When Max has to Run
by the.dinosaur.stomp
Summary: Iggy gives Max his blessing to take some time off to figure things out after they tear down Itex. The flock is left behind, but where does Max go? IS there anywhere she can go? AU and OCs Chapter Nine up now! r&r, please
1. Completely Lost

Alright, so i figured i might as well stick with the angsty lean when i wrote this :) but i thought it would end differently, you know? I think it's good and you can expect more chapters to follow, I can't just leave it as a one-shot.

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns. I am extremely jealous, as many of you are as well.

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Max smiled at Fang as he sweetly kissed her on the forehead. He brushed the hair out of her face tenderly, and she felt like pushing him away but let him do it. Might as well indulge him, right? His dark eyes seemed dull compared to their normal spark as he looked at her. It was almost as if he knew.

"I love you, Max," he murmured, his voice low. He rested his forehead against hers and she could feel his warm breath spread across her face. It dulled the numbness she felt, and she shivered in the cold. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms a few times, then took her hands. Fang smiled sadly.

"Fang..." she whispered, her voice almost taken away by the wind. It was a cold, chilly night, and storm clouds gathered overhead. He took her into his arms, holding her close. Max pressed herself to the warmth of his body and sucked in a deep breath, still feeling herself shaking. Fang slowly pulled away, reluctant to let her go. Max's arms flew up and she pulled him close, squeezing him tight. Fang returned the bear hug.

Max stood up as tall as she could and pressed her lips to Fang's, lightly. His hands went to her waist, pulling her closer, and her arms went around his neck. A voice calling out to them pulled them apart at last, and Max rested her head on Fang's chest, listening to his even, steady breathing, and his rhythmic heartbeat. Angel ran up to them.

Max smiled to see the young girl rushing up to them, her little arms pumping wildly, and carefully kept her mind blank. Angel had the remarkable ability to read minds. Never mind what else she could do. Let's just say you didn't want to mess with Total while she was looking. "Hey, girl," she said, letting go of Fang to throw her arms wide and wrap her arms around Angel. She picked her up and swung her around, Angel laughing gleefully as her legs flew up in the air. After a few rounds Max set Angel down carefully, holding her hand.

"Are you ready to leave yet, Max?" Angel asked lightly, curious. Fang was already getting ready to go. Max squatted down to ruffle Angel's hair lovingly.

"No, hon, I'm going to be staying here with Iggy, okay?" Angel nodded, her bright eyes loving. It almost hurt Max to be looking at them. She blinked and wavered unsteadily, and had to catch her breath. Angel's eyes were so full of love. Max's heart ached. "I can't come with you, you guys all wanted to go Christmas shopping for me and Iggy wanted to stay home, but I'll see you later, okay?"

Angel nodded again, her lips pulling into a grin. She threw her arms around Max's neck and Max squeezed her fiercely. "I love you Angel," she said, fighting hard to keep her voice steady.

"I love you too, Max," Angel said back. "You big old silly! We'll be back soon, don't be worried!"

"Yeah, or everyone else is going to get worried too," Iggy said, approaching them. His footsteps crunched lightly on the broken boards. They had taken shelter in this old warehouse and were planning to spend a Christmas together there, per Angel and Nudge's request. They already had a fake tree all set up, and most of the presents were bought already. Max's were the only ones not bought yet, because nobody wanted her to know what the present, or presents were going to be. "You guys hurry, okay? It feels like it's going to storm soon."

With that, they had hugs all around again and Fang led the younger ones away, to the huge stores and malls, to the sales that were going on right now. Iggy and Max were left alone on the rooftop, looking out over the riverfront. The dark water barely moved, the air gently pushing the top into crests. Max breathed in deeply and let her breath go all at once, savoring the taste of the salt in the water. The wind picked up suddenly, just barely, and her hair was picked up by the wind, blowing lightly, tangling. She walked over to the edge of the warehouse and sat on the edge of it's roof, dangling her feet off the edge.

"Max?" A tentative voice said. Iggy walked up behind her slowly, his feet testing the roof below him. Max patted her hand on the roof next to her and he sat down a foot or so away. "Max," he said again, as if testing her name on his tongue.

"Yeah," she said. She bobbed her head slightly and turned her head from the view to him. He stared out blindly, face turned up to the warmth of the setting sun. His arms were braced on either side of him, nervous. His ramrod-straight posture screamed uncomfortable and tense. Suddenly, Max was struck by the realization that she had never noticed how unsure of his place in the world he was.

The silence that followed was somehow awkward. Iggy broke it with a question Max had never heard him utter before. "What does it look like?" Max stared at him, quiet, unsure. "I mean, the world. The sun and trees and people and the water? Are they beautiful?" Max opened her mouth and shut it again, not sure what to say. "Max?"

"The water of the river-it's not deep, but it's so dark it looks like you could fall in it for ever, never stopping. Sometimes there's a flash of color when fish swim just barely under the top... " Max fell silent for a few seconds and Iggy started to regret his questions. Then she started talking again, her voice steadier.

"There's smoke in the air-you can taste it when you breathe in. Instead of the sky being bright blue, it's a hazy gray. With the sun going down, it looks beautiful, the colors look hazy." Max paused to take a breath and continued relaying the view to her brother. Well, not exactly brother, but he was like one. "We're too far away to be seeing anybody, and on the other side of the river there's about forty feet of smooth pebbles and then there's long, tall grass. The kind that gives you cuts and scratches if you rub it the wrong way. Farther away the colors smudge together-it's the edges of a cornfield. I can see bits of yellow, and when the wind blows a bit harder you can see more yellow. It looks like a sea of nodding yellow heads."

She paused to smile at herself, and then came across the thought that maybe she sounded a bit ridiculous. She lay back against the roof, propping her head up on her arms. Iggy turned to look at her blindly. He seemed to inhale very, very slowly, and then told her to continue. "Don't stop now," he said. "I... I want to hear more."

Max looked over at him briefly, then up at the sky. She took a deep breath and continued, per his request.

"Do you remember the times when we're in big crowds, when the only scents are strong perfume and sweat, and we have to hold your hand so we don't lose you in the people?" She didn't look for his nod, instead sensing it. "The colors of their clothes are so different, sometimes it's.... bewildering? Yes. And you hear their words but so many mouths are moving you can't tell who is saying them. Some people look like they have too much money in their pocket and some look like they can't afford pockets. The newer buildings are shiny, metallic, and the oldest ones are dull, brown." Max's eyes fell closed and she drifted off for a second, remembering the past few days.

First was the feeling. Like she didn't really belong here, in that moment, with the flock. The feeling had hurt. And then she looked for some place she did belong. Realizing there was none, and that there was nothing she could do about it, she made her decision.

"Max, you don't have to, you know," Iggy said, breaking into Max's thoughts. She turned her head towards him so fast her neck popped. She winced and raised her hand to it, stretching it either ways. "Angel has a hard time keeping her mouth shut," he said, by way of explanation.

"What-" Max said, before she ran out of breath. Her throat constricted and she felt her eyes water up. "Angel told me, and I told her it was nothing, that you'd be alright. She was worried. Is. She made me promise I'd talk to you about it," Iggy said. Max just stared at him. He turned his head away from her gaze, his eyes sliding closed as he turned to the horizon.

"Max... You can just take a break if you want," he offered. "We won't go off and die without you," he said, one side of his mouth turning up in a smile. It fell again, slowly. "Max, we'll be okay without you. Just, don't take too long coming back? Your secrets... they'll be safe with me and Angel. Don't worry about it."

"Iggy... I... I'm sorry, it's just, I can't, it's too much too handle right now, and leaders are supposed to be strong, but the things I saw. I didn't know that I would do things like that when the chances came up. I didn't know that I wouldn't give a second thought to killing or that I would do it with a smile on my face, laughter, watching as they all fell down..."

Max's eyes spilled tears and she wiped them with her sleeve. They had absolutely wiped out Itex just months before, after rounding up a coalition of other mutants and regular people dedicated to bringing them down. Max and Fang had been at the head of the battle, taking down anyone in their path, and in the frenzy, the only lives taken were the workers at Itex. Nobody was left besides the people working towards their cause. Celebration had followed, joy, the media, and acceptance, but they had left Max somewhere in the middle, drifting aimlessly. Now, she did not know what her purpose in life was anymore.

The Flock was safe, as safe as it could be.

"Take a break. As long as you need it to be, Max. We'll be here, waiting for you, until Christmas of next year, you better bet on it," Iggy assured her. Max looked over at him, uneasy. "You've said the closest to good-bye as you could get," he said with a smile. Max never said good-bye for real, only "see you later."

"Are you sure? I don't want to... leave you guys hanging..." she said, closing her eyes tightly. She brushed away what she hoped was the last of the tears. Iggy pushed himself to his feet and held out his hand in her direction. She looked up at his sightless blue eyes, that wistful smile, as if he already missed her. Taking his hand, she gathered her legs under her, and he helped her stand.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "And I'll tell Fang not to worry," he told her. She looked down at her feet awkwardly. Iggy pulled her into a sudden hug, tight but brisk. "We'll all miss you, but this is better than your other option, right?" Max smiled and laughed a little.

She reached up to her neck and followed the thin silver chain around her neck. From it hung half a heart, with her name on it. Fang had bought them the pair at a mall, getting their names carved onto it. She unclasped it and dangled it in front of her face, then pulled up Iggy's hand. She pressed her thumb onto his palm and his hand reflexively opened, and she dropped the necklace into it, curling his fingers into a cage around it.

"Give it to Fang, and tell him I'll be back to get it, because he can't keep it forever," she said, a light laugh in her voice. Iggy could hear her sadness, but he also knew she needed some time alone, no matter how long it might take. Max hadn't been herself for a long time now, and sometimes a person just needed to get away from it all, to think things over. Iggy nodded and gave her a one-armed hug, this one warm.

"We'll be waiting," he said, softly. Max nodded, spread her wings, and took flight before she could change her mind about it.

"We'll be waiting," Iggy repeated, even softer, looking up at the sky. He'd felt the barest brush of feathers against the side of his face as she left, and he stood there with his face up to the sky for a long, long time, long after the night had turned cold.

Voices burst into life below him, their low murmur growing louder as they rose to the top of the warehouse, climbing the tall set of stairs. Fang was the first one to burst on top, Iggy could tell, by the sound of his footsteps. He could also hear his feet stumbling to a halt. He'd seen Iggy, standing alone.

"Where's... where's Max, Iggy?" Fang asked, his voice faint, almost gone. Iggy held out his hand in response, letting the necklace dangle.

"She'll be back to get it, because you can't keep it forever," he said, as the younger ones were stunned into silence. Fang surprised him by striding up next to him. He took the necklace from Iggy tenderly, softly, and clasped it around his own neck. He looked up at the dark sky, the twinkling stars, and reached over to clasp his brother's shoulder.

"She'll be back," Fang said, his voice completely sure of it. Angel wrapped her arms around his legs and nodded her assent, looking up as well. Nudge and Gazzy soon joined, silent, and the rest of the flock stared up at the dark expanse of sky, knowing that somewhere, somewhere up there, Max was gliding around on her strong wings, and that soon enough, time would bring her back.

Christmas came and passed, and they kept all the presents in the corner. Occasionally a fight would break out between them, but it soon stopped, as they remembered Max's voice reprimanding them. It was almost as if they had lost her, but as if she had been ripped away from them. Fang took it all in stride, confident that she would return to him.

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And.... review?


	2. Coffee Time

XD second chapter, pretty soon. Maybe i might go over this and fix it up if i want to tweak the story but i'm already starting on the third chapter :) I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to James Patterson but the idea, the OCs, and much of everything else is mine :)

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Max relished in the feeling of flight, the cool air moving over and under her wings, tickling the feathers. She didn't fly long, instead she landed on a low rooftop, taking the fire escape down. She was on the outskirts of New York City, where you could see the bright lights but none were close.

She quickly found a cafe and entered. It was the kind that was becoming more and more popular these days, soft, cushy loveseats and couches, a few beanbag chairs along with them. There were a few library shelves full of random paperbacks, all colors and genres. It seemed the Sunrise Cafe worked on the honor code, if you wanted to finish the book you took it home and returned it sometime later, no questions asked.

A barista met her at the door, and she asked for just plain black coffee. The cafe was about halfway full, and plenty of space remained at the area surrounding the fireplace. Max took a seat by the fire, warming her hands. She glanced around her a few times before remembering that she could relax now. The flock had spent so much time being paranoid, watching their backs, suspicious of everyone, that it had become routine, second nature. Now, they were accepted for the most part, and nothing in the cafe gave her the feeling that she would be kicked out for being who she was.

THe barista looked over at her every once in a while, so obviously there was at least one person who knew who she was. Max swallowed her apprehension, the nerves, the already-coming-on feeling of regret, and threw some trust out there. She stretched her arms out and then, with a light rustling, let her wings spread part of the way. They were soaked, but immediately started drying out in the heat of the fire.

Not long later, her wings were spread wide. "Hey, it's Max," she heard from behind her. Max took a deep breath and pulled her wings in halfway, fighting the urge to run and hide, trying not to be scared, and wishing that she was stronger when it came to strangers. Evil, crazed scientists she could tackle. Robots working for the government shivered under her glare. But when it came to Max and people, Max was the one shivering in her boots.

She turned with a smile as the barista handed her the large mug of coffee. "Four bucks enough?" Max asked. She reached into her pocket for the small wad of bills hidden deep down. THe barista smiled and shook her head. Her nametag said Amanda.

"No, don't worry about it. It's on the house," she said. She sat down across from Max, and rested her arms on her knees. "I just... It may be weird but I wanted to say thanks. For everything you, and your flock, have done." She smiled wistfully, and Max recognized her, briefly.

After the fall of Itex, people, relatives of the experiments, had come to the mass burial. Some cried, some were angered, and some stood, stunned, at what Itex had done. Only sixty or so of the modified humans they had created had survived the fall of the company, and after an assessment of whether they could be integrated into society or not, they were returned to their families. Max, among the rest of the experiments, had received an ID card. It listed all the regular information, along with what kind of recombinant they were, and also stated that under law, they were citizens. With no Social Security, no insurance, no anything, they could go to a hospital and trust the staff fully and receive health care, thanks to the government's pocket.

"Amanda Goodwin?" Max asked, holding out her hand. The barista nodded and reached out to shake Max's hand. THe young woman had found out that she'd had a twin when the company fell and Itex's offenses were revealed to the public. Her twin had survived, and it was another avian-human recombinant like Max and the flock.

"Yeah. Um, again? Thank you, Max," she said, her voice warm. "I... It was hard, you know?" She looked up at Max as if for reassurance. Max nodded, attentive, and Amanda looked to the side, at the fire. She continued speaking.

"After, when he, my brother, came, he was, and still is, really jumpy. He has bad dreams during the night, and sometimes he thinks he sees things. But it's a lot easier now. Sometimes he helps out with the cafe, and even though there are still some days when he stays in his room all day, penned up, he's starting to smile." Amanda herself smiled.

"Well, I gotta go. But, um, after hours, if you want to meet him, Alex might come down," she said. Max looked up at her, about to say no, she had to be on her way, but Amanda was already walking away.

"Thanks for the coffee," Max whispered. She leaned forward on the couch and shook her wings, about to pull them in, when the door opened loudly. She jumped and looked at it, expecting it to be Fang, Nudge, and the rest of them, looking for her, but it was just a punk-looking teen. He and Amanda greeted each other like long-time friends, and Max pulled her wings in, looking back to the fire. She picked up her coffee, steaming hot, and took a sip, nearly burning her tongue.

"You should read this book," she heard from behind her. It was the guy who had just walked in. He was soaked, dripping water, but he smiled warmly at her. He sat on one of the love seats and tossed her a worn book. The cover was torn, but not in a way that looked like it was abused. Just like somebody had read it many, many times. Max looked down at the book and up at the guy. His long, dark blonde hair hung over his eyes, which were a bright, surreal green.

"Mmm, thanks," Max murmured. He nodded and settled into his chair, looking at her, like he was judging her. "What the hell do you want?" The guy laughed at her.

"I'm Adam," he said. "Amanda's younger brother." He rose and walked over to her, sticking out his hand. Max shook it. His grasp was warm, friendly. He sat back down, relaxed.

"Her, um, twin?" Max asked tentatively. Adam shook his head and laughed.

"No, that's Alex. But, I was in there too. Itex." When he said it, he pretty much spat out the word. As if it had burned his tongue. Obviously there was a little bit of anger there.

Max picked up the book and opened it to the first page, drinking more of her coffee. It had begun to cool down, but just barely. The reviews proclaimed that it was powerful, moving, and a revolutionary tale to match those of the Ride Flock's. Max stopped at those words and set the book down gently, her fingers shaking slightly. It unnerved her to think that so many people knew their story.

"I'm sorry. I learned reading secondhand, and it's still hard for me to understand sometimes," she explained lamely. A lame excuse. Adam eyed her, this time not critical. He leaned back in his chair and promptly fell asleep.

It wasn't long after that, her coffee cup empty and the fire dwindling to a mere crackle, that Max followed.

Dark shadows chased her in her dreams, and a soft hand woke her up, shaking her shoulder slightly. Max's eyes snapped open and she looked up to see Amanda, her face kind, worried. "Okay, you're fine," she murmured, sighing in relief. The cafe was empty, and the fire was crackling loudly again.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Amanda asked. How did she know? The question must have shown on her face. Amanda nodded sympathetically. "It's gotta be at least ten. I know you're one hardy girl, but I absolutely refuse to set you out on the streets at this time of night." Her smile was motherly. This girl, woman, had to be only twenty-five, twenty-six. And yet Max felt like a little girl. The feeling was disarming.

Max sat up fast, looking at the windows. It was pitch-black outside, with few lights to break up the darkness. Curtains were pulled halfway, covering much of the shadows. Max could see two other forms in the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she recognized Adam from the night before. Another form, tall and lanky, was nearby Adam, almost hiding behind him.

Only two or three candles lit the cafe. Amanda apologized. "I'm sorry, it's just that Alex's eyes have been hurting lately and it's worse in the light." Max nodded. Only months before she'd known exactly what she had to do, where she had to go. Now, she felt a kind of emptiness that came only when one had no idea, absolutely no clue, where they should be or what they should do, and sometimes, who they were.

"Hey," said Adam, his voice low, pleasant. He tipped his head at Max. "Adam. From last night." Max nodded again, knowing her confusion showed on her face. She straightened it out, letting her brow relax and her mouth settle into an easy smile. Over the past months, Max had learned how to convince people that she was fine. Adam nodded over to his side, at the other figure. "Alex," he stated, without much emotion.

Alex, the other figure, stepped forward uneasily. Max could see him stumble and Adam help him. Max felt some sort of obligation and rose to her feet, keeping her gaze light as she watched him approach slowly.

Suddenly, he stopped a few feet away. In the shadows, Max couldn't see much of his face, but enough to know that he was related to Amanda and Adam. For one, they all had the same nose, and they all had the same slight frown when they were uneasy, or deep in thought. They stood like that for a few seconds, then on an impulse, instinct maybe, Max flexed her shoulders. Her wings unfurled, the feathers whispering to her of flight and secrets. Alex visibly relaxed.

"Hello, Alex," Max said in a warm voice. "I'm Max." Alex's lips curved into an uneasy smile.

"I'm... My name is Alex?" His words came out as a question. He winced a little, drawing back, but Adam murmured something and he nodded. "I, um, I just wanted to thank you? For, you know, all you've done?"

Max turned to see Amanda beaming behind her. When she turned back Adam was hugging Alex, in a brotherly, compassionate way. Max pulled her wings most of the way in, letting them hang a little to warm in the light of the fire. Alex was turned into Adam, and his shoulders shook. Adam led his brother away, to some dark corner.

"That's the most he's said in a long time," Amanda murmured. She looked at Max and her eyes held a hint of sparkle. "Thank you."

"For what?" Max asked, confused. "I didn't do anything but say, 'hey, I'm Max.' " Amanda smiled, and looked off at where her two brothers had disappeared.

"I know," she said. "And isn't that the wonder of it?"

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That's your cue, to give me a review!


	3. Take To The Sky

Thanks, y'all, this is chapter three. I've had this one done for a while now, it'd be nice to get feedback :)

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns, you betcha, baybay, but my stuff is mine own and if you steal i'll set the FF police on ya :)

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Max stirred sleepily. By her guess, that was the longest she'd slept in a long time. The cafe smelled of fresh coffee and spearmint. They had moved the couches from the fire just enough to create a space where her, Amanda, and Adam could sleep in front of the warm fire. It seemed that Alex still had a lot of issues, and they couldn't sleep in the same room together. He took the only bedroom in the small apartment above the cafe.

Max was squeezed against the couch, Adam taking up most of the room. She turned over and was greeted with his hand, inches from her face. She shoved him over as hard as she could. That coffee scent hadn't come from nowhere-Amanda was already up. Max could hear her feet moving around, quick, brisk. She sounded like she was ready to get down to business.

The fire had long gone cold but that was alright. Max had four or five thick quilts piled over her. She stretched as far as she could, her fingers toward the fire and her feet pointed away. She yawned widely with the stretch, so much so that her eyes closed and when she let the stretch go she thought she was going to fall asleep again.

Max turned over onto her belly, resting her chin on her forearms. She breathed out and ashes fluttered away. She breathed in and ashes fluttered closer to her. She blinked slowly and waited for this easy picture to go away.

It seemed surreal. After so long of living in fear, she didn't have to worry any more about Itex or people attacking. She could rest easy and spread her wings now without people freaking out. Max smiled, laughing a little as she remembered the time they'd all busted in that restaurant, and pictures of them flying away graced the next day's front page.

"Come on, sunshine, you need a shower," Amanda said from above. Max looked up to see Amanda looking down at her. Her light brown and blonde hair was pulled back into a loose bun, bangs hanging loose. She had an apron tied over her shirt and jeans, and she held a mug of coffee. "I'll hove you some coffee when you're done," Amanda said.

Max followed her, sleepy, to the bathroom. Amanda fetched a pair of her own clothes for Max and Max only thanked her. She sucked up a little bit of her pride and faced the thought that she might need to learn how to depend on other people, if only a little bit.

She stood under the hot stream of water, feeling it beat away some of the stress that knotted her muscles up. Not five minutes later she stepped out, hair smelling fruity and skin scrubbed pink. She donned Amanda's clothes and put her own into the laundry basket as Amanda had insisted that she do. She passed Adam on his way to the bathroom and he nodded at her, his feet dragging and arms hanging.

Max trotted down the stairs toward the smell of caffeine and oatmeal. Amanda was moving around the small kitchen behind the counter. Four bowls of steaming oatmeal sat on the counter, topped with fresh berries. Three huge mugs of coffee complemented them, steaming as well.

Max halted on the last step, looking at the cafe. It may have been small but it was comfortable, and it made her relax a little bit. The curtains were swept away from the windows, letting in the bright sunlight, and the oak floors gleamed with the light. The couches, some ratty, some new, littered the cafe floor, love seats sprinkled among them.

It looked like it had last night, only... warmer. More inviting. Accepting.

"You gonna move out of the way any time soon?" A voice asked from behind her. Max whipped around, startled, and about to throw some punches. Adam held his hands up in the air, defensive, and Max let her breath out, forcing herself to relax a little. Max nodded slowly and vacuumed herself to the wall. Adam passed smoothly, glancing back at her as if she were some kind of deer, scared out of her wits. In a way, maybe she was.

Max moved down the stairs and over to one of the windows, looking out. "Door's open," she heard Amanda call. Max nodded and moved to it, turning the knob and leaving quietly.

The promised storm had come in the night, it had rained. The gutters were full of water and leaves, and water pooled in the cracks of the sidewalk. It gleamed with the sheen of gas, showing miniature rainbows on it's surface. When Max glanced up, the sky showed no signs of the past storm. It was calm, pale blue. The only thing that interrupted it was the yellow sun, weak this early in the morning. Max sucked in a breath and let out one big sigh, leaning against the outer wall of the cafe.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Amanda asked from behind Max. She had followed her outside. Max turned, startled. Amanda held out a bowl of oatmeal, a spoon sticking out. It smelled so good, Max would have eaten it without the spoon. She took the bowl, careful of the heat, and started wolfing down her breakfast.

"I like to come out here sometimes. Just to listen to the quiet, before the people start waking up and making a racket." Amanda said, and laughed to herself. "I didn't think I'd miss the quiet this much, but I do. I remember when I was younger I used to hate it and now I go finding it."

Max looked over at her. Amanda seemed to glow, basking in the weak sunlight. Her eyes were closed, hands in her pockets as she leaned casually against the brick wall. She had a lazy smile on, her face turned up to the sun. Max felt her eyebrows crinkle together. She wished she could be as... free with her past as Amanda was, but for some reason she couldn't make the words pass her lips.

"It's Saturday, so we'll be open from eight to six," Amanda informed Max. "You can help around as much as you want, but I'm not sure how much you know about coffee. Sunday we're closed, on that day we can go shopping around."

Max nodded, looking down. She'd finished wolfing down the oatmeal. "Do you have any more?" She asked sheepishly, glancing up at Amanda, holding out her bowl. Amanda laughed, taking it from her hands.

"Should have known you'd have a huge appetite," she said. "Alex eats anything in sight," she said, with a wistful smile. Amanda headed inside, the door closing quietly behind her.

Max stared down the road for a second. Suddenly, she turned around and opened the door. Amanda hadn't gone far, and she looked up at her. "I'm gonna go out for a, uhm, fly, okay? I won't be too long," she said. Amanda tipped her head in her direction.

"Okay, we'll be here when you're back," she said. She was busy pushing the chairs around, experimenting with the spaces. Adam and Alex were nowhere in sight. Max double-checked for permission to make holes in Amanda's shirt, and within minutes there were two slits in the back of her shirt and she was walking down the street.

The sun had warmed up in that short time, and already the puddles were growing smaller. Max buried her hands in the pockets and let herself relax. She didn't have somewhere to go, she didn't need to be anywhere. It was somewhat liberating.

To be on her own, as close as she could get. She may not have had a distinct purpose, but she felt more like she had a place, already. Yes, she did belong with her Flock, but she could also survive on her own.

Max soon found herself in an empty lot. She simultaneously wrangled her hair back into a ponytail and unfurled her wings. With a few running steps and a hard beat of her wings, she was in the air. High and soaring higher, the city below her seemed to spin. At her flight's lowest she could see people bustling around, and at it's highest she could barely see the lights of skyscrapers.

This city, New York City, THE city, was alive. Even though she was high above it, she could feel it, pulsing with life, vibrant. She could feel the hundreds, thousands, of lives beneath her, their breath, their movements. She could almost hear them, their heartbeats in her ear.

Max wondered how many of them she, and the flock, had saved.


	4. A Serious Conversation

Fourth Chapter of the series. Really, I don' know where the story is going. At all. I just write it and read it and post it, hoping that people like it. Reviews help :) and thank you to anybody who is keeping tabs on this story :)

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns. Sad, but true.

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Max got back to the cafe about half an hour later. Her hair was blown around by the wind and she stifled a shiver as she walked in the door. Adam and Alex were sitting on barstools by the counter and Amanda was nowhere in sight. Neither of them turned to look at her as she entered; she guessed they hadn't noticed.

Max went around them to the back. Here was the kitchen, and a pot of oatmeal sat there, waiting for Max. Amanda came around the corner and smiled at Max, her eyes twinkling. "What is it?" Max asked, her eyebrows crinkling together. Her head cocked to the side as she gazed at the young woman.

"Alex and Adam. Adam is showing Alex pictures of our family," she paused to open the fridge, scanning it for food. Max turned the burner off and took the oatmeal to a small table, eating it with the wooden stirring spoon. "Alex... He's been very distant for the time he's been here, and this is the first time he's actually pushed forward and been the first to say something." Max listened quietly as Amanda spoke, washing her hands and patting them dry with a towel over the sink, looking out the window.

"It's been hard for a while, but it's getting better," Amanda murmured. She put her hands on the edge of the sink and pushed down, leaning forward a little. "Whatever you did last night, though, it helped. A lot. Thank you for that."

Max looked up, her eyes sharp, unconfused or cloudy for the first time in weeks. Her voice held the same sharpness, loud and clear, letting Amanda know instantly what she was saying, so she didn't get asked twice about it.

"I didn't do anything. None of us, the flock, have. The past few years were just survival, and it was just dumb luck that so many people heard about us and that so many people were ready to fight to help us, to help the lives Itex screwed up so badly," she said, her voice strong straight to the end. Amanda turned to eye her with one wise eye, the other thrown into shadow by the sunlight. Max felt as if she were being judged.

"None of us wanted to be in newspapers or on television. We didn't want people saying our names, and we used to be completely anonymous. Now? Now, we can hardly walk down the street without getting dog-piled. We're not celebrities and we never will be. Don't thank me, because all we've done has gotten us free, but trapped. We will never be able to disappear now," Max said, her voice almost cracking. She wanted to voice that deep want in her, the ache to become invisible again.

Amanda opened her mouth and was about to say something that seemed important, but Adam called her name. "Yeah?" Amanda called back.

"Time to open up," he announced. Amanda put down the towel and tossed an apron Max's way, telling her she had to pull her own weight around here. Max wouldn't have thought any less.

The work kept Max busy, her thoughts in the back of her mind, only slightly nagging. She was thoroughly distracted as she learned how to work the machines and cranked out the caffeine for the sleepy customers and the chatty people that strolled through the door. She wiped off the counters and washed cups and at the end of the day, when there was an hour of open time left, she sat in the nearly empty cafe, on one of the couches off in the corner, and let her thoughts take over.

Max closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting the tears fall sliding over the curve of her cheek in the still silence of the cafe, about to close. Amanda almost entered the room, but caught a glimpse of Max and quietly backpedaled. She may not have had many years on her back but she knew when somebody needed to be alone.

Soon, Max fell asleep and New York was so quiet that nobody entered the cafe, and Amanda chose not to bother her. Max awoke when a light blanket was tossed over her and was carefully adjusted. She opened her eyes a crack to see Alex walking away, his stride awkward. His wings dangled almost limply from the gashes he had cut into his shirt, and he stopped by the fire. In a soft rustle, he unfurled them completely. Dark, they almost blended in to the dim lighting. His wings might have been wide, but they were bent in so many places Max couldn't have counted them all. Quietly, and moving slowly, he bandaged his wings, being gentle with the feathers.

It seemed Max hadn't been as quiet as she'd hoped. "Do I look freakish enough for you?" Alex said, his voice sarcastic. He didn't turn to look at her, continuing with the bandages. "Seen enough yet?"

Max didn't say anything. Neither did Alex, for a time.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I was being rude, and I had no right to." Max felt her eyebrows crinkle in confusion, but she just stretched, yawning. She tossed the blanket off and stood, wobbling sleepily over to the fire.

"It's.... okay," Max murmured, looking at Alex through the corner of her eye. "I'd probably be rude too, if I were... in your position." Alex didn't seem to register the fact that Max had so widely avoided the subject. He tied off the bandage and stared deep into the fire.

Max rubbed her hands together, warming them.

"I'm close to blind," Alex said abruptly. Max tilted her head toward him, eyebrow raised slightly. "The bones in my legs are light steel, my real ones were replaced with them. I... I can touch a surface and know who else has touched it, what they were thinking. My wings don't work very well, probably never will. Because of an experimental drug they tested on me, my immune system recognizes only human cells, and it works hard to kill off everything avian. I used to be able to see better than you probably could, and now..." He gestured to his eyes and fell silent. Max shifted. Alex's head rose and he turned to look at her. Max wouldn't have been able to tell he was blind except for the cloudy white pupil of his eyes.

Max nodded, knowing that it must have been hard for him to say this, and knowing, also, that he expected something from her in return.

"Itex... I didn't spend many years in there. But every night, I hear the screams of pain. I see all the gruesome things they did, those heartless scientists. Playing with life. Playing with something they should have never touched in the beginning. Without them, I would be a normal human, unafraid. I wouldn't look over my shoulder every second for danger, and I wouldn't sleep so lightly, ready to spring at any moment. Without them, I wouldn't have wings, but without them, I wouldn't have my family, my flock. It's hard to admit that I am grateful to a point because I cannot imagine life as a human. Powerless. Bound to the ground." Max stopped abruptly as her and Alex both snapped their heads up, rotating them. There was somebody on the stairs. She heard Alex breath in faintly, then saw him relax.

"Adam..." he breathed out. Max saw Adam peek out from behind the wall.

"I wasn't trying to interrupt," he said. His gaze rested on Max for a few seconds before he stepped into the room. He strode to the fireplace and clustered there with Max and Alex. He sat on one of the chairs and Max turned to look at him. He patted the seat next to him, his usually bright green eyes dark and dull. Max sat down obediently, while Alex sat down a few chairs away. He was close, but not too close.

"Itex was a horrible corporation. I may not have suffered much, but I still have nightmares, and I hate every single person there. Absolutely hate them," he muttered, his voice slow, sounding weak. Max turned to Adam, confusion in her eyes. He shook his head slightly.

"I'm not an avian-human hybrid, like you guys," he said to Max, looking up at her. She was startled by how intense his gaze was, and had to remind herself that he was only a year or two older than her. His eyes, the way he moved, the way he talked, he sounded like he was forty years older.

"There was a mess-up, and instead of avian DNA they injected the embryo that was me with feline DNA. My mother had been prepared to give birth to a kid with wings, not a kid with furry ears. She was shocked. So shocked, in fact, that she committed suicide." Max found herself staring at him. The way he said it, point-blank, like it was just another fact. He continued his story.

"I... didn't spend much time in cages. After the customary tests, they explored my limits farther, and they came up with this bright idea that I would grow up in the lab, live in the lab, know the lab. I became something of a junior scientist, and so it was their fault that I was able to escape. They had let me learn, they'd let me explore, and they pretty much opened the door so I could walk out. Right from under their noses."

"How old were you?" Max asked softly. Adam bent to toss a few pieces of wood into the dying fire before answering. "I was eight when I escaped." Max nodded.

They both stared into the fire, Max searching for some kind of an answer, Adam barely registering the flicker of colors. A soft snoring sound entered Max's ears, and she turned to look at where Alex was sleeping softly. Adam found the blanket Max had tossed off earlier and draped it over his older brother, careful not to wake him.

Adam laid down close to the fire, stretching out in front of it. He curled one arm under his head, the other laying on empty space. Without thinking about it, Max laid down, nestled into him. Her face turned toward the warm fire and his hand coming up to rest around her.

If she was in a right state of mind, awake at all, Max would have been shocked at herself. As it was, she was frightened, and needed comfort. She was searching for something she wasn't sure she'd find, and all she wanted was to feel right. To feel like Max, not this scared girl who could barely do anything. She wanted to be strong again.

They slept next to each other, Max curled up and Adam curled around her. No hanky-panky, but it was all the same. Nothing would change that.


	5. New Arrivals

so, fifth chapter of this story. just, to remind you all, reviews are greatly appreciated. I'm not sure if i'm ding okay with this story so far or what :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride and the other characters. we all have James Patterson to thank.

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During the night, the two had shifted until Max's head was lying on her own arm and Adam's head rested on the crook where her neck met her shoulders. Somehow, he had wriggled both his arms around her, and they were holding her in a neutral spot, across her belly. They both snored lightly, close to the fire that was now dead.

Amanda didn't disturb them. She was old enough to know now, that there wasn't any use trying to avoid this, even if she didn't know what _this_ was. She went about, brewing coffee and getting a small breakfast ready for herself. She sat at a chair by one of the window tables and held a warm cup of coffee while she watched the sun rise. Frost decorated the sidewalk and people tread carefully on their way to the grocery store and back, toting small bags. She made a list in her head of everything they might need and estimated how much money the cafe had made in the past weeks.

She leaned her head down to inhale the wisps of steam coming off the surface of her coffee. As she did, out of the corner of her eye she caught the glint of sun off of motorcycles. A young man, in his late teens, stood leaning against a wall, and next to him stood a taller, slightly older man. He looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. They were Sam Cook and his older half brother, Robert Johnston. Adam's best friend and Amanda's best friend. Maybe.

Lately she and Rob had been drifting apart. For no obvious reason, just because. Maybe it was the cafe. Maybe it was his motorcycle. But no. Amanda had spent enough time trying to find something to blame. For now, she needed to just let it be and hope that everything turned out alright in the end.

Amanda rose silently. She'd had years of practice, with Adam sleeping in the bottom floor of the cafe and now Alex who could barely sleep at all. She was glad he was sleeping so soundly, and she didn't want to wake him, interrupt that. She pulled a sweatshirt over the pajama tank top she'd worn to bed and the pajama bottoms that didn't match it before slipping her chain bracelet off and unlocking the door. Rob and Sam's heads turned when they heard the quiet snick of the lock, and Amanda came out holding her cup of coffee.

"What's up?" Sam asked, nodding at her in greeting. Rob gave her a light squeeze around her shoulders in his own way of greeting before nodding at Sam and announcing that he had to leave. He'd be back later. Amanda found herself standing on the sidewalk, staring out at his sleek black Harley as it stormed down the street, probably waking at least a few people up, feeling stranded.

"It's not your fault," Sam said, in a way that was oddly comforting. "He- Well, hell if I know. But I know it's not you," he said, shaking his head as if his older brother was an idiot. Well, he was.

Inside the cafe, where it was still warm, Max stirred sleepily. As she turned over, she became aware that something was odd. She reached up and her hands met a strong, muscled chest, covered only with a thin cotton Metallica tee. Her eyes stayed closed as her fingers splayed, feeling somebody else's deep, even breathing. She could even feel the heartbeat, strong and calming. She felt like she was still asleep, but she knew better.

Two hands rested on her. Max realized that before she turned around they had been on her stomach, and now they were in the middle of her back. A safe zone. Not too high, not too low. One of them moved to trace a soft line up her spine to her neck, and back down to feel the outlines of her folded wings. Max breathed out softly and let her hands rest on Adam's chest, leaning her head forward to nestle under his neck. He was short, even though he must have been two years older, maybe even more than her, he was only slightly taller than her.

Adam's hand traced her neck, all the way up to her jaw, and his thumb grazed over it softly before he let his hand fall back down. He hugged Max's slender, lightly muscled body to his and let a deep, relaxed breath out, feeling completely at ease. For the first time in a while, he felt like he was more or less at peace. He could feel Max's light breath on his chest and her slim fingers that pressed against him, and was aware that she had fallen back into sleep, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the silence and Max sleeping against him.

Sam and Amanda chatted outside the cafe, watching the clear blue sky and the bright watery sun. "So, who's the chick?" Sam asked finally, peering through the window. He could just barely see the shape next to Adam, and they were a little close together to just be friends.

"Maximum Ride," Amanda answered, looking at him pointedly.

"Yeah, I know who she is," Sam replied quietly. "Never met her in person, but I know." Amanda kept looking at him. "Look, this is no different from Adam and Alex," he said, his voice reasoning. "The furry ears and all that hasn't changed anything with me and Adam's friendship, and it's not like I'm going to walk in there, saying, 'heh, heh, neener neener neener, you have wi-ings.' I'm a little over that phase of life, thank you very much."

Amanda nodded, relaxing. "So, how long will you be staying here?" she asked softly. The same way she always asked it. Rob was the only one who looked after Sam, because his mother was so absent. And he went out of town a lot on work, and there was almost no way to take his younger brother with on most days. Sam had once had a younger sister, but his father had run off with her a long time ago. Adam and Sam had been friends when they were younger, just like they were now. So this is where Sam headed off to every time he wasn't welcome at home or needed a place to go, a place to be.

"A week maybe," Sam answered. He looked down at his lap, at the tattered jeans he wore and the hard cement underneath him. "Will that be okay?"

"Yeah, it's alright, Sam," Amanda assured him. "But I don't know what you're going to do today," she said. Sam looked over at her. "I was planning to take Max in to the city to get clothes and other stuff she might need, and do some grocery shopping, and on top of that, I need to clean the cafe."

Sam seemed to mull this over. "Adam still has my skateboard here, doesn't he?" Amanda nodded yes. "Well, what if me and him and Max went into the city to get the clothes?" Amanda made a move to protest, but he stopped her. "I need a new saddlebag for the Harley, anyway, and I need to buy a pair of jeans or two while I'm at it." He looked pointedly down at the jeans he wore now and Amanda had to restrain a smile.

"And I'll get groceries, and when you guys get back we can all clean the cafe?" Amanda suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Sam said, moving to stand. He held out his hand and Amanda took it as he helped her to her feet. She raised her finger to her lips, motioning to Sam to keep quiet, and he nodded, half a smile on his face.

Max and Adam were still curled together on the floor. Adam's eyes were only half open as he watched Max sleeping next to him. Max's soft breath spread over the skin on his neck, and even as he watched she moved in her sleep, her arms wrapping around him and her face settling closer to him. She was twisted in such a way that Adam felt her hair tickle the bottom of his ear and his jaw, and her nose was pressed into his neck. As a result of her shift, even more of her body pressed against him, but he didn't react. He didn't move, either.

"Boo!" Sam yelled, startling Adam. Max merely moved again, only barely. Adam breathed out heavily, turning his head to glare at his long-time friend.

"The hell was that for?" He hissed, quietly. Sam hadn't woken Max up, at least. She must have been pretty exhausted to just conk out next to him like that, he thought.

"It's eight in the morning," Sam said cheerily.

"Yeah, I know that. Did you also know that it's Sunday? You know, the one day of rest?" Adam's voice was still quiet, but his glare lessened. He eased Max's arms from around him, resisting the urge to press a kiss to her forehead. Sam was startled. He'd never seen his friend be so careful with a girl before. Max's sleeping body barely registered the movement as Adam turned to lay on his back. Sam hopped over the back of the couch to land on it hard. He rested his elbows on his knees and looked coolly at Adam.

"Yeah, I know that too," Sam muttered, and he looked up at the wall. He looked back down after a time. "Dude, did you know that she's more like a leech than a girl?" He asked, pointing at Max who had already shifted to rest against Adam's side. Her head lay on his chest, rising and falling with every breath, and her hands were light against him.

"I don't care. I'm not going to wake her up, she's exhausted," Adam said, looking down at Max. He couldn't resist it, the hand that had rested on her back had started drawing twisting designs on the back of her shirt. Her lightly tanned arms spread across him and she seemed to mutter something in her sleep. "What?" He murmured, tilting his head up. Max made the same muttering noise again, then promptly fell deep into sleep again.

"Dude," Sam said. "Bizarre."

"What?" Adam asked, eyebrows wrinkling in confusion.

"Uno, I think she just said something about coffee. Dos, I have _never_ seen you like this before." His eyes twinkled with laughter and his smile was at Adam's expense. Adam grumbled something, looking away. "What? I didn't catch that," Sam said, feigning deafness. He cupped his hand around his ear and turned it toward Adam. Adam shook his head dismissively. He looked down to where Max was waking, slowly.

She shifted next to him, moving to lie on her back. Still, she was partly on him, and barely any of her back touched the ground. Adam turned in to her, wrapping himself around her back. He nuzzled her neck and breathed in the scent of her skin.

"Ready to wake up, Princess?" Sam asked, laughing a little. Adam growled lightly into Max's neck, and her eyes slipped partway open.

"If you call me Princess one more time I'll make _you _a princess," Max said, her voice a lazy threat. Sam took it seriously.

"Well, come on, you two, it's the morning and cuddle time ended approximately five minutes ago. There's shopping to do and then cleaning some of the cafe up," Amanda said as she passed by on her way from the stairs to the back. She poured four more cups of coffee, refilling her own cup.

Max yawned and stretched lazily. Adam's arms automatically went around her when she moved, as if to keep her close. Max let out a laugh and eased her way out of his arms, leaving him on the ground in favor of the waiting coffee. Sam laughed at Adam. "Ha ha, you just got burnt," he said, grinning. Adam let himself laugh as well, and he heaved up to a sitting position.

"Coffee," he mumbled. "Coffee," Sam agreed, adding a nod. "Coffee!" Max said, jumping, throwing her hands in the air gleefully. Both Sam and Adam laughed, and Sam helped Adam to his feet and they both headed over to the bar counter. Bar stools lined it, and Max had picked the one by the corner. She picked a donut from the Krispy Kreme box Amanda had bought. Actually, she'd bought three of the large boxes, packed full of all kinds of donuts. Apparently she knew what kind of an appetite a hybrid had.

Her dark brown coffee wafted steam up to her nose, and Max drank it in greedily. "Go, go, caffeine," she murmured. Adam snagged the seat next to her, and Sam sat on his other side. Adam eyed the donuts and picked one out, it seemed none of them were the same. He poured milk in his coffee and used a handful of packets of sugar, and Max felt her eyes bug out.

"Yeah, he drinks coffee like a girl," Sam said, laughing.

"And you skateboard like a girl," Adam shot back, chugging most of his coffee in one go. He reached for the pot and filled it up again.

Max half-smiled, and finished off her donut. She reached for another one the same time as Adam, and he gracefully let her have it. She nodded her thanks, turning the cushion of her stool so her back was to the wall. Max looked up and found herself looking directly into his bright green eyes. They seemed to twinkle as Adam watched as she gaped for a second, then took a bite out of the donut. He reached over and snatched it from her mouth, one of his fingers actually grazing her lip. Max frowned and reached for it, but Adam turned away from her and took a bite out of it.

Max glared at him for a second, then pulled her arm back and punched him in the arm-lightly. He laughed and held the donut out to her. Max went to take it, and he shook his head slightly, tilting it. Max glared at him again and he let out a small laugh, and she surprised him by leaning forward quickly to snatch it with her mouth.

"Flirting also ended five minutes ago," Amanda called out, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Alex was right behind her, looking shy. He sat down on the other side of the counter on a chair that was already sitting there. Sam and Adam both nodded at him. "What's up," Max said, by way of greeting. She caught Adam's grin out of the corner of her eye and elbowed him in the ribs, hard. The breath rushed out of him in a_ whoof_ and Sam laughed loudly. A ghost of a smile passed over Alex's face and he held his coffee carefully in both hands. Max pushed the donut box his way and he took one, eating it slowly.

Amanda sat down next to him, a few feet away. She looked at Max gratefully and took a sip from her own cup of coffee. "So, what's happening today?" Max asked, looking up from her donut and coffee to Amanda. Her answer came from the other direction-Sam.

"Shopping," he said shortly, shoving a donut in his mouth. "You two better hurry up, we've got to make it to the center before the rush starts. And it'll take a while on board."

"What?" Max's question was clear, straight to the point.

"Board...?" Adam said, looking at her. "Skate... board?" Max's confused expression didn't change. "Can you skateboard?" Max's face went blank.

"She'll learn," Sam said, chugging his coffee and filling it up again, eating another donut. Adam shoveled another one of the sugary confections down, drinking more coffee. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Yeah, but do you think we should give her pads and a helmet?" Adam asked Sam, looking at him. Amanda answered that question. "No, Max will probably be fine," she said.

Max put down her cup of coffee. "I'm sorry, I was unaware that I had left the room. But I'm back now," she said, looking at Amanda and Adam and Sam. Alex's eyes crinkled at the corners, happily. Adam's hand went to her knee and he squeezed it lightly, a small smile on his lips. Sam and Adam laughed in unison.

"Do you think you can learn?" Adam asked Max, looking at her. She was caught by those green eyes again, and nodded. She didn't trust her mouth to make the right words. Adam caught it, and his smile widened. Max batted at his hand on her knee and swallowed the rest of her coffee and two more donuts.

"Do you think we can leave?" Max asked. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh no, I'm screwed," she said. Adam and Sam both laughed at her word choice and she reddened only slightly. "I mean, I've got no cash," she amended, looking at Amanda. She shook her head and settled back into her chair. Adam's hand caught hers and he squeezed it almost reassuringly.

"It's okay," Amanda said. "I'll take it out of your pay for this week," she said, laughing, as she held out a credit card. She nodded yes when Max asked if she was sure, and without any more questions, she took it and slipped it into her back pocket. Max knew a good thing when she saw it, and she thanked Amanda.

Adam and Sam headed upstairs to Adam's room and they brought down three skateboards. Two were Sam's, one was Adam's. Max was to use Sam's extra one.

"Are you right-handed or left-handed?" Adam asked her. "Right," she said, and he drew two ovals in silver sharpie on the black surface of the board. It was grippy, and when she stood on it her shoes didn't slip at all. "Put your feet on those ovals, and push with your back foot to get going," he said. "We'll take it from there later."

Max nodded. She, Sam, and Adam said their goodbyes as the two boys tossed on their backpacks. Alex raised his hand awkwardly, and Max smiled. The corners of his eyes crinkled again.

At first it was hard to get the hang of standing on the board. Adam helped her balance, with his fingers barely under her arms, and he showed her how to throw the board down to get it going. But when they were racing down the sidewalk, it was almost natural to her. She caught on almost instantly to the way Sam and Adam manipulated their boards to hop curbs and turn corners, and made it the whole way without falling once. Okay, she fell once. But there was a tiny little dog that looked almost like Total sitting on the sidewalk and Max couldn't take her eyes off of it. You can't blame her, really.

The front end of the board hit a light pole, stopping suddenly. Max threw her arms out, but she'd been going downhill, gathering enough speed to race a car. She started to fall forward but threw herself to the side. Max would have rather landed on cement than bash her head into the hard light pole. As her feet slipped and she tilted sideways, for a second the world tilted, too. Then Sam and Adam each had arms around her, keeping her from touching the cement. She'd thrown herself the wrong way, and just in front of her eyes there were two headlights, and the beast of a Hummer was screeching to a stop.

She found she'd been holding her breath and she let it out in a huge whoosh. Odd, how she wouldn't have blinked at a clone of her or a man that had been turned into a stack of boxes ruled by a brain, but this, this almost landing on the hard road, almost getting hit by a car, made her heart stop and her eyes widen and her whole body tremble.

"Whoa, dude. You almost _died_," Sam said, his voice still a lazy drawl. The only sign he had even been alarmed were his eyes, concerned. Adam helped Max back up, and the second they were off the road and back on cement the Hummer roared off. People walking down the sidewalk barely even turned their heads in their direction.

"Ohmygod," Max said. "Thatscaredtheshitoutofme!" She almost laughed, realizing she sounded much like Nudge, in a hurry to get the words out. She clung to Adam for a second, and his arms were tight around her. She could feel his chest rising and falling heavily-he'd been scared too.

"You're telling me," Adam said, with a short laugh. "Watch your mouth, Max," he said. His strong arms encased her and he bent his head to press a kiss to the top of hers. Max's eyes fell closed and she leaned her forehead into his chest.

"Chop, chop, let's go," Sam said, clapping his hands. "Wonderful rescue, I must say Sam, thanks for helping save me," he said. "Oh it was nothing, just doing my job you know." Max laughed. "Thank you, Sam," she said. He clapped a hand on her back and laid his board down, setting off. "No thanks needed," he called back. "Meet you at Sally's!"

Max breathed in Adam's soap-clean scent for a few seconds before forcing herself to push away from him. "What does he mean, Sally's?" she asked Adam, hearing the quiver in her own voice.

"The Goddess of All Low-Income Households," Adam announced, his hold on her only loosening slightly. "The Salvation Army." He smiled at Max, his eyes still concerned, and she laughed, leaning forward to give him a small hug. As her arms fell, so did his. Very reluctantly.

"I think we should walk the rest of the way," Max announced, looking down at the skateboard doubtfully. It rested against the base of the pole, and Adam picked it up, holding it easily. Like it belonged there. He laughed at Max and squeezed her around the shoulders, letting his arm rest there for a second before dropping.

"Alright, we can if you want," Adam said, picking up his board as well, holding them both in the same hand as he led her off down the cement. Not much time had passed since they had left the cafe, but most people were heading to work in the innermost parts of the city. They fought their way through the crowds and every once in a while, Max would lose sight of Adam. He looked back to make sure she was following, but all the same, feeling only slightly lost in so many people, she reached forward and grabbed his hand.

It was warm, and she became aware that she had been shaking. Adam knew it too. He drew her up next to him and squeezed her hand reassuringly, locking eyes with her for only a second before heading off again. With something that little, Max felt herself relax a little bit and her shaking eased up. She kept her head down, her eyes on their two hands clasped together. His was much tanner than hers, and they both had the rough skin of hard workers. His fingers were longer than hers, but their hands fit together almost perfectly.

Max's hand squeezed his, just to make sure he was still there. He was, and he smiled at her, at how endearing she was. He could tell, just see in her eyes, that she had once been a strong person, hard like a diamond, and was saddened that when he looked at her, he saw this. This was not Maximum Ride, only a mere shadow of her. He was determined to help her fix that.


	6. Crazy Ride Do you trust me?

thanks to everyone who's been reading this story all the way up to this point :) gotta say i congratulate your patience. reviews and flames are both accepted. if i'm not doing well i'd like to know just how bad i am doing :)

Disclaimer: i don't own anything in this story, i think.... Thanks to James Patterson for giving us the Maximum Ride characters we all love so much

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Adam and Max entered a lonely-looking building, slightly run-down, but still functional. It was stuffed full of clothes on racks and shelves with household items, including stuffed animals and shoes, and a random assortment of mugs.

Adam led Max to the racks, and held her hand lightly as her fingers glided over the racks, pulling out the nicer-looking pants and tee shirts and tank tops and a few sweatshirts. As she was laying the clothes over her arm, Sam walked in, the little bell over the door chiming gently. He made his way over to where Adam and Max were, weaving around the people crammed between the aisles.

"Those won't fit you," he said, taking the pair of pants Max had just pulled off the rack and tossing them back on. "They're two sizes too big." Max looked up at him in confusion, but he had taken the clothes from her and was rooting through them, tossing out some things, keeping others. He made an ew-face and flung one of the shirts as far as it could go.

"What-" Max said, but was halted by Adam's hand clamping over her mouth. "Don't interrupt him, he'll narrow that pile down to whatever of that will look best on you, fit you better. You'll end up only buying things for what they're worth, not buying any crap," Adam said quietly. He startled Max by pressing his lips to her cheek for a brief second, and she closed her eyes, steadying herself. She leaned back until she found him behind her and rested her head on his chest. His hand dropped from her mouth to gently trace her jaw, and then his arms dropped.

Max's hands found his and wrapped them around her. They settled lightly on her sides, almost questioningly, and Max nodded. They landed on her hips, and she found herself trusting Adam not to try anything, and he didn't. She leaned into him, breathing slowly, feeling his heart beating against her back.

Sam had finished weeding out the clothes Max had picked out, leaving her with four pants and just as many shirts. He added two sweatshirts to the pile and headed up tot eh counter, leaving Max and Adam in the aisle.

"Is he gay?" Max asked, not meaning anything by the question. Adam let out a short bark of a laugh and she tilted her head as far back as she could so she could look at his face. It was... happy.

"No," he answered. "But he's damn close to it."

"Watch your language," Max said absently. Sam had returned. Adam kissed the top of her head lightly again, and Sam announced that Julie, the girl working the front counter, would hold the clothes for Max until they were all ready to buy the stuff. In the meanwhile, there was something in the back he wanted to show Adam.

"Come on," Sam said, impatiently. He was bouncing on his heels in excitement as he led Adam to the back. Max moved out of Adam's arms, but he snatched her hand and towed her with him.

"What is it?" Adam asked, and promptly fell silent. They had left out the back door to the dirty alley in back. Amongst all the trash and dirt, there was a gleaming motorcycle chained to a stout pole. It was worth something. Sam held up his hand, a key ring dangling from his finger, and Adam reached up for it. Sam snatched his hand back.

"Eh, eh, I think you might have to wait till your birthday to get this shiny baby," Sam teased, running a hand over the dark surface. Max gently eased her hand out of Adam's and Sam hugged him. "Happy early birthday, Adam," he said, giving him the keys. Adam hugged him back, then bee-lined to the Harley that was now his.

"Where did you find this?" Adam asked, running his hand over the smooth angles and curves of the bike. It was almost plain, except for the skull-and-crossbones design popping out on the dark purple. He looked as if he was about to kiss it, hug it, marry it and have two-point-seven kids with it.

"It came into Sally's a few months ago, but it looked pretty worn-down. I figured it was the least I could do," Sam said, scuffing his toe on the ground. Adam looked up at him, at the shame on Sam's face.

"Thank you, Sam. It means a lot to me. I mean it," Adam murmured, and then his face broke out in a grin. There were two helmets hanging from the handles, and he held one out to Max. It had the same skull-and-crossbones design on it. Max took it uneasily as Adam sat on the beast, leaning forward to take the chain off the post.

"Come on, Max. Don't be so afraid, I know how to make one of these babies purr," he said to a worried, scared, uneasy Max. She turned the helmet over in her hands, and Sam took the skateboards from Adam.

"Gimme that card of yours," Sam said, holding his hand out to Max. "I'll charge those clothes up for you, and meet you guys back at the cafe whenever you get back." He pushed Max toward the bike, and Adam took the helmet from her hands and settled it over her head before moving her hair out of the way. He buckled it loosely, and his thumb caressed her cheek for a moment before turning around on the bike. His hand patted the seat behind him, and Max sat there carefully.

Adam put the keys in the ignition and turned them, and Max didn't see any of the rest because the second that motor roared she pressed her face to Adam's back, her trembling hands gripping his shoulders. She could feel his laugh but was unable to hear it over the roaring, and he reached around to grab her hands and pull them around his waist. Sam helped adjust Max, nudging her closer to Adam's back.

The second the bike started moving, Max's arms tightened around Adam, squeezing him until he could barely breathe. At the first red light, in an empty street with empty sidewalks, he let the bike stall. He twisted around and took Max's helmet off, his palms on her cheeks. He leaned close to her, resting his forehead on hers, looking deep in her eyes. Her pupils were tiny pinpricks of black in that chocolate-y brown color of her eyes. His warm breath spread over her face and she gulped.

"Max?" She nodded, just barely. "Max, you need to trust me. Nothing will happen, I swear. I promise you, I won't hurt you," he said. He was completely serious, too. Max's mouth opened just slightly and his thumbs rubbed over the skin of her cheeks. Max's eyes registered Adam leaning closer, his lips a whisper away from her own. She felt herself instantly relax, and saw him smile, just barely. "Trust me," he murmured, still close to her. Max nodded, resisting the urge to lean forward and press her lips to his. Her eyelids fell closed and she breathed easier. She nodded again, and in another second his hands were gone, his breath, his lips.

Adam settled the helmet over her head again and latched it, pressing his lips to her forehead. He turned back around and revved the engine, Max's signal to put her arms back around him. She did, wrapping them around him not so tightly, in a way that Adam would have described as caressing and Max would have just blown off as safety.

They raced down the streets, flying all over the place until Adam finally stopped the bike. As he took his helmet off, shaking his head in the slight breeze, he gently eased Max's hands from around him. They were weak, and shaking slightly. Concerned, Adam got off the bike and unlatched Max's helmet. Her hands clutched at the still-warm Harley beneath her, and when she raised her head, he realized the hand-shaking wasn't because she was scared of the Harley.

"I trust you," she said, her eyes reflecting the light brightly and her cheeks pink with warmth. Adam helped her off the bike, and Max's lips pulled up in a smile to match his. Her knees shook a little, and Adam's hand automatically grabbed her waist, steadying her. He pulled her in closer to him and she gave in, her arms wrapping around him as his other hand came up to her side. It rested there as he reached up with the other hand to hold her chin, tilting her head up. He looked down at her, searching her eyes for something.

"The Harley wasn't that bad, was it?" Adam said, smiling. Max surprised him, standing as tall as she could and pressing her lips to his. He hadn't expected her to make the first move, but he wasn't sad for it, either. It meant Max was getting to be more of what she used to be.

Max's eyes closed and he leaned into the kiss, relishing the moment before tweaking her ear and pulling back. Max peered up at him, confused, but content. Her head tilted to the side and her hands came up to wrap around his neck. Unconscious of it, her fingers twisted into his dark blonde hair. Adam smiled.

"Wanna see mine?" Adam asked Max. Max looked confused. "Ears," he said. Max smiled slyly.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she said, teasingly. Adam laughed and he shook his hair forward until the air hit his ears. They came up, instead of lying flat on his head it looked as if he wore a headband with fuzzy ears on it. Max, fascinated, reached up, her fingers barely grazing the edge of one. She snatched her hand back as it twitched forward.

"Oh," she said. "Can... can I touch one?" she asked nervously, looking down. Adam laughed at her lightly. Max looked back up, biting her lip. He reached up and tugged her lip out from under her tooth and bent to kiss her again.

"I didn't say you couldn't," he said playfully, and Max reached up again. "Hold on, do you want to sit down?" he asked, and Max tilted her head for a second. He took it as an okay and sat on the ground. The sun had already dried the grass, and Max looked around to see they were in a deserted park. It was Sunday after all, and it was church-time. No little children ran around, playing on swings, and Adam sat against a tree, pulling Max down to sit between his legs. She turned around to examine his ears more closely.

They were twitching, swiveling in the direction of little bird noises, but when her warm breath tickled them they stilled, pointing her way. She didn't see Adam's eyes close. His hands rested on her hips, and her hands moved up his chest to rest on his shoulders, the weight of them light. She traced one of the furry ears, feeling the thin fur that matched the color of his hair.

Max pretty much became a little girl again, curious, exploring. She moved his hair, looking for the way his ears were bonded to his head, feeling the smooth side of his head where real ears would have gone. The furry ears twitched forward and she smiled, tweaking them this way and that. Finally remembering what she had said, Max took her sweatshirt off and let her wings spread halfway. Adam's fingers came up to trace the feathers and massage where they met her back, and she sighed, happy and relieved and content all at the same time. She felt the back of his ears with the smooth, sensitive pads of her fingers, then massaged them gently.

Adam let out a small groan he had been restraining for some time now. His face tinted red, embarrassed. Max's fingers froze on Adam's ears as she sat back down on his lap. She peered at his eyes, concerned. "Adam?" His breath had started to grow heavy. He looked as if he didn't want to talk, and when he did his voice was deeper, husky. It wasn't playful like it had been just a minute ago.

"Yeah?" Max's head tilted to the side and she let her hands drop from his ears, moving back and away from him. His fingers slid down from her back to her waist, where they gripped just a little harder than normal.

"Adam?" Max asked, confused. "What's wrong?" After no response from him her voice quavered as she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," she said. Adam's eyes snapped open, and the bright green burned fiercely as he shook his head.

"No. Don't apologize. It's not your fault," he assured her. His hands snatched hers up and rubbed his thumb over her palms roughly. "It... I'm not going to say it doesn't have anything to do with you, but, it's nowhere near your fault. At least... you didn't do anything... _bad_." He fell silent and as Max peered at him she realized what he meant, and she smiled.

"Really?" she asked. Adam caught it in her voice-that she knew. He nodded, almost in despair. "Really," he said.

Max bit her lip as Adam looked down and over again. His voice was still husky, and she could see his adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed. She wrestled one of her hands away from his and nervous but assured, she reached up to press her hand against the side of his face. He turned his head back to her, his eyes pleading as he looked up at her. "Adam?" she asked. He nodded. "It's... I don't care," she said, smiling.

Adam, sure that his voice was normal again, spoke. "You don't need to care. I never asked you," he said, looking down, away from Max again. She felt rejected, but knew it was him. He was ashamed, embarrassed. And Max had no idea why.

She reached up again and gently rubbed his ear again, running up and down it, tracing all around the base of it. Adam's eyes closed, squeezing shut tightly, and he sucked in a gasp of air. "Look at me, Adam," Max said. He refused. "Please?"

Adam forced himself to look up at her, and he licked his dry lips. He opened his mouth to say something but her lips found his open ones before he could get the words out and her tongue burned against his. He kissed her back after a small pause, his own tongue gliding against hers. To Max, the kiss tasted sweet. But he made it hungry, passionate, and Max realized it was because, unconscious of the fact, her hold on his ears had tightened, massaging them roughly.

Adam was the first to pull away, breath hard, chest heaving, and Max realized she was the same doing the same. His eyes were half-open and he tilted his head back, relishing in the feel of her fingers on his ears. Suddenly, one of his hand left her waist and grabbed both her wrists in one smooth movement, pulling them away from his ears.

"What-?" Max asked, her question cut off as he kissed her again, just as passionately as the last time, nipping her lower lip and tugging it.

"Don't..." Adam said, his voice deep and husky again. He couldn't finish it, and had to make an effort to say it again. "Don't play with me." Max leaned away again. "Not unless you really, absolutely mean it," he said. His eyes were closed again and he fought to even his breath out again, calm down his fast-beating heart. When he opened them he caught the wet glisten of tears in Max's own eyes. He froze, feeling guilty.

"No, Max, you didn't do anything wrong," he said. "It's just, don't play like that, okay?" Max nodded, tilting her head down so her hair covered her face. He reached forward and pulled her head around to face him. "Please don't cry, babe," he pleaded. He reached up to wipe the tears away, and when he was done Max snagged his hand up and pressed it tight against her cheek. She nodded, a small smile on her lips as her dark eyes met his bright ones.

"Okay," she said. "Umm, is it safe for me to turn around and kind of, you know..." Max trailed off, letting herself fall silent. She swallowed nervously and Adam had twisted her around and pulled her back up to his chest before she could blink.

"Like this?" he asked, his voice starting to edge on husky. Max chewed her lip again and he tugged her lip out of the way of her teeth, gently rasping his thumb over her cheek and jaw, then up to her ear. She nodded, sighing and leaning back to rest her head against his shoulder, her eyes falling closed. It was almost lunchtime, and the bright sun found it's way through the leaves to tingle on her face. Adam's arms found their way around her to rest on her stomach again, and Max wrapped her fingers around his. Her arm pressed against his and he rubbed the side of his cheek absently along her cheek.

He stared out as the sun inched higher in the sky until it was at it's highest point, and he looked down at Max in his arms. She was silent, and her breath was easy, relaxed. She looked completely different from what she did normally, so relaxed. Adam knew better. She was asleep. He smiled, and brushed the hair gently away from her face. She murmured something and twisted in his arms until she was in the fetal position on his lap, her face turned toward his. It nestled in his neck and her small breaths tickled him.

Adam shifted, moving to ease her off of him, but one of her hands came up, rubbing across his chest, and landing on his shoulder, at the junction where it met his neck. She traced a thumb along his collarbone sleepily, starting to wake. "Max," he murmured softly to her. "Wake up." She murmured again, louder this time. "What?" he asked.

"You called me babe," she muttered absently. Adam smiled at her again, shifting his hold on her. "Don't do it again," she muttered. Adam couldn't help himself from laughing. Max just nestled deeper into his neck, pressing against him. Adam held her close and just enjoyed the moment, letting himself rest easy. Maybe it wasn't that Max was tired, it could also be true that she was stressed. After all she spent a lot of her time worrying. Adam didn't want to help contribute to that.

"Max, it's lunchtime," Adam whispered quietly. "Come on, let's go get something to eat," he said. Max nodded, moving on his lap. She stretched her arms up, and they fell down to behind his head. She stretched herself out, her back against his chest.

"Mm," she said sleepily. "You're squeezing my wings." Adam laughed, his hand coming up her back to rub between her wings. Max's hand moved to tweak his ear.

"Max," he said, his tone warning. She just said "mm" but let her hand fall. He continued to massage the area around her wings and Max sighed, leaning forward so he could reach them better.

"If you don't want me to tease you, don't do that to me," Max murmured, her voice low. Adam laughed once again, splaying his fingers and pushing his hands against her back, easing her up. Obediently, she got up to her feet, wavering sleepily.

"Max, there's a deli just down the street, but if you just want to sleep you can stay here," he said, rising to steady her with a hand on her waist. Max woke up fast, shaking her head.

"No, I'll go with you," she said. "Are we taking the Harley or walking?"

"Uhm, it's twenty blocks. If you'd like to walk it's okay, because if you don't trust me on the Harley it's okay, too," Adam said, stumbling over his words. Max's hands clasped his, raising in the air, pumping victoriously. She grinned and laughed, then stood on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to his lips.

"Harley!" she cheered, still grinning. Adam's brows wrinkled, confusedly.

"What got into you, silly?" Max raised her palms in an I-don't-know gesture, still holding his hands. His wrists popped and Max looked worried, kissing each of them. She danced her way over to the bike, leading him, still holding one of his hands. She smoothed his ears back-carefully-and plopped his helmet on his head. She grinned as she pulled hers on and waited for him to sit down before snuggling up close to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Before he turned the keys in the ignition Adam trailed his fingers from her hands to her elbows almost tenderly, feeling her breath on his back and her warmth against him.

He turned the key and revved the motor, swerving away from the park. Adam navigated through the traffic and they screamed down the road to the deli. He parked the bike in front of the wide windows and helped Max off the bike. They entered and almost everyone in the room greeted Adam.

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Reviews? You know you want to... press the button!


	7. Is This A Reunion?

ah,,, another chapter. yay. i'm getting these posted pretty quick but not as fast as i wish i did :D thanks to y'all reading, nice to know you've made it this far through the story without getting ticked off at me. or you are already ticked, you just want to see what happens. either way, i'm happy.

Disclaimer: Now, everybody here knows I don't own Maximum Ride, but I do own the cute little devil-bear i won in those crane games. But thank you James Patterson for giving us the Flock.

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They sat down together, after getting their food. The table separated them, and Max sat with her legs crossed indian-style. She wolfed down her four sandwiches as if they were her last meal on earth, and Adam ate his tuna-fish sandwich just as quickly.

"Isn't it ironic?" Max said. "What's ironic?" Adam asked her. "You have the genes of a kitty and you eat like one too," she said, smiling a genuine smile. The corners of her eyes crinkled, and Adam stifled a laugh. He'd never thought about it, but he did.

Max fiddled with her Coke, twisting and turning the glass between her hands until they were white from the cold. She sat back in the seat of the booth and looked at Adam, then out the window, where the weather had changed suddenly again, rain starting to fall. She looked back at Adam.

"What?" he asked, taking a sip from his coffee that was more milk than coffee. He smiled at the thought that occurred to him-he drank like a cat too.

"Tell me about you," Max said abruptly after a long silence. The sound of the rain falling outside tingled in Adam's sensitive ears, but he dared not raise them. Not in a room full of people that thought he was a just-plain-human.

"Like what about me?" He asked, sitting back as well.

"Anything," Max said simply. Adam looked at her eyes which were curious before looking back out the window.

"Well... my favorite animals are lemurs. Maybe just cause they're so playful. I hate the rain, but when the sun's really warm I end up falling asleep. I hate wearing hats, it annoys me," he said, grimacing and gesturing to his head. He glanced at Max, at her smile and the sparkling eyes he saw.

"Sounds like a cat," Max murmured, and Adam smiled. He continued.

"I work at Salvation Army-with Sam-every Wednesday through Friday, and the rest of the time I help out at the cafe. I don't go to school, finished that off forever ago. I loved my Harley," he said. Max's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, so he explained. "Sam borrowed it, to go on some trek of his. Actually, he was running away from home, but it was raining. Hard. The tires just kept sliding on the road, and he almost went over the edge of a cliff. Thank God he jumped off the bike in time, but my Harley just kept cruising on. That baby was a beast," he smiled at the memory.

"How bad was the damage?" Max asked. Adam cringed slightly.

"Bad. She was all torn up, dashed to pieces. _BLAGH_," he said, making an explosion gesture to emphasize it. Max nodded solemnly, looking down. "But, now it's your turn," he said, leaning forward. Max peered up, her hair hiding her eyes. Adam brushed it back gently, tucking it behind her ear, spurring her to start.

"Well, there are these books written now, based on the Flock, and everything up until Itex fell. The story goes on from there, but it never had everything straight, most of it was guesstimations, and the author's thoughts on everything we told him. Have you read them?" Max asked Adam. It was a problem she met with most people that knew about the Flock. He nodded.

"Yeah, well, forget most of that. There was a lot more complaining about the situations we were in, trust me. And I'm nowhere near as girly and stupid as the books portray me as," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but, what about you?" Adam asked. Max smiled.

"I'll feel ridiculous, but okay," she said. "My favorite number is five. I like spaghetti, minus the tomato sauce, and Hawaiian pizza. Minus the pineapple," she ticked the things off her fingers. "I have pretty much no idea of when my birthday is, but I suppose I'm around fifteen, right?" Adam half-smiled at her, taking her hand lightly.

"I don't really know. I kind of just, you know, take a day at a time, you know? I have no plans, but it's weird now. It used to be I had no plans because I didn't know where we would be next, or if there _would_ be a next," Max said, looking down again. She seemed to have lost some of the confidence being listened to had given her. Adam squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Now, I have no reason _not_ to have plans..."

"What do you want to do?" Adam asked, after a quiet silence. Max looked at him questioningly. "We have a lot of time left until Amanda wants us back there," he explained. "I figure, might as well go around and do whatever until then."

Max grinned at him. "I have an idea," she said, standing up. Adam paid for the food and they left the deli, getting onto the Harley. "Times Square," she said, grinning.

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(___)

The days passed, each the same as another. Soon, a week had passed, then two. Christmas came and went, and then, then there was New Year's Eve, when Max got an unexpected gift, but also, a choice.

Max and Adam stood together, Adam with his arms around her from behind. He put his chin on her shoulder, his chin tickling whenever his mouth moved.

"What do you think?" he asked softly, barely a whisper. Max's eyes were starting to tear up. She was on the verge of tears. Adam didn't miss that. "Is it okay? Did I go too far?"

"Why?" Max asked, simply. Across the road, sitting on a bench covered in a layer of snow, was a small girl, about the age of eight. Light blonde hair, bright blue eyes. A worn teddy bear rested in her arms. Next to Angel was Fang, easily spotted from any distance. An almost solid square of black almost surrounded by pure white snow. They were in part of the abandoned outskirts of the city, completely alone.

"Because you need it," Adam said. "Whether you approach them or whether you walk away, at least you've seen them. They know you're somewhere around here, just not, you know, _here._" They were standing in an abandoned building, behind a boarded-up window. There was a crack between two of the wooden slats, and she could see them clearly. Angel was leaning against Fang, asleep. He had one arm around her, the other lying on his lap, tightly fisted. He was tense. Anxious, maybe. His dark eyes gave away nothing, but the ever-so-constant swivel of his head in every direction did. He must have been looking for her.

Max bit her lip. She had spent a long time away from the Flock now, and she didn't know what they would say. Maybe Fang was mad at her for leaving. Maybe Angel resented her for it. Maybe they didn't care anymore. Adam knew her well enough by now to guess what she was thinking, and he rubbed his head against hers softly.

"They are your family," he said. "They need you, just as you need them. And no, you do not need to stay with me. They will probably accept you again, I know they miss you," he said, guessing her next worry. But he was wrong. He knew everything that had happened between Max and Fang, and yet he had brought them back together again. He also thought there was a chance Max would leave him completely and return to the Flock, deserting him. Max turned in his arms, reaching up to caress his cheek. She could feel the beginnings of stubble under her fingers.

"You need to shave," she said absently, deep in thought. Adam's eyes were warm as he loosened his arms around her, starting to release her. Instead, Max leaned closer. "Adam," she murmured. He made a quiet noise. "I'm not ready yet."

"To talk to them?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the left. A smile flitted across Max's face.

"No. To go back," she answered. She stood high on her tiptoes to give him a sweet kiss. "I'll see you back at home in a few hours," she murmured. Adam smiled at her, tightening his hold on her briefly before letting her go completely. Max looked back over her shoulder once before prying the nailed door open. When she looked back again, Adam had disappeared into the dark. She heard him say "I love you" before she slipped through the doorway out into the freezing cold.

Fang's eyes settled on her for a second, staring as if trying to make sure it was really her, and not a hallucination, or a mirage. Max gave him a small smile and his face lightened. He gently nudged Angel and said something to her, waking her up instantly. Angel's feet hit the ground and headed Max's way before she could blink. Max walked towards her calmly, stooping down when she met her to scoop her up in the air and twist her around.

"Max!!" Angel cried happily, leaning down to hug her neck tightly. Max squeezed her in return, hugging her for several moments. "I missed you so much Max!"

"Oh I missed you too, hon. I missed you Angel," she said. She kissed Angel's forehead, cheeks, and nose, over and over again. She was bundled up against the cold winter, and Max guessed Fang had done it. He'd always taken especially good care of Angel.

Fang popped up behind her, startling her a little bit. But Max didn't let it show. He eased Angel out of Max's arms, setting her down nearby. Angel wrapped her arms around Fang's leg as Fang seemed to examine Max. She spun in a circle, doing a little dance. "See anything you like?" She asked, joking. When she looked up at Fang again there was a small smile on his face, which was unusually emotional. For Fang.

His dark eyes shone, it looked like he was about to cry. But he seemed ecstatically happy to have her in front of him again. Angel seemed to sense a 'moment' and let go of his leg, stepping back. Max and Fang stood in a kind of showdown until he raised his arms, and Max jumped at him, hugging him fiercely. He held her tenderly, touching her hair, her shoulders, her face, her neck. Making sure she was all there.

He buried his face in her hair. "I missed you so much, Max," he mumbled, his voice muffled. Max just squeezed him tighter. She felt a tug on the bottom of her shirt, and she looked down to see Angel. Her big blue eyes were pleading. Fang lifted her up and they had a big hug, all of them at once. It was fierce.

"I missed all of you so much," Max said, close to tears. Angel touched her cheek and Max felt calmer. _A new trick I've learned_, Angel said, in her mind. She opened her eyes to see Fang's face barely an inch from hers, his dark eyes as pleading as Angel's had been. Needy. Max's breath hitched and she leaned forward to catch his lips in a kiss, not thinking at all. Angel grinned and laughed while Max felt insanely guilty. Fang was still the first to break the kiss.

At Max's worried eyes he reached up to caress her cheek. "I know," he said, his voice thick with emotion. His eyes were hard as he spoke. "Most of it. And I'm not happy that he's got you, but if it's what you want, it's what you get," he muttered, looking at her for a second before looking away. Max noticed him tensing up again. She leaned toward him, and he relaxed a little, his arms flying around her to hug her, the embrace intense.

"Max?" Angel asked, tugging on her hair lightly. Max looked up at her. "The rest of the Flock misses you too," she informed her. "They wanted to see you too, but Fang said that mean boy would only let me and him come," she said innocently. Max saw Fang smile.

"Well, I didn't exactly say 'mean'," he said. Angel grinned, probably reading his thoughts. "Full disclosure," she told him, making him laugh. So she _had_ been reading his mind.

Fang looked at Max, his gaze bordering on nervous. Angel's was expectant. "To the Flock?" Fang asked. Max nodded. "To the Flock!" she cried, pumping her arm in the air. Fang smiled and Angel laughed.


	8. Another Conversation

Finally, chapter eight, but the end's nowhere in sight yet :D At this point the only thing I'm aiming for is getting this whole story done, never mind readers. But readers and reviews and ratings are good too XD thanks if you're reading this, it means a LOT :D

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns Maximum Ride, but he has graciously let me manipulate the characters for torture.

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Max grinned at her family before her. They sat in a late-night cafe, bunched around a table in one of the booths. The others had scrambled over each other for the seat next to Max. Everyone respected that Fang had claim to the first seat, sitting so close to her that their legs were pressed to each other's and her arm was against his. He had his pinky finger linked around hers, content to just sit there.

Gazzy had won the scramble, and he leaned on Max's other arm. Angel sat next to him, dead asleep as he was. Iggy sat by Angel, one of his hands lying on her bent knee, the other on the table, holding Nudge's. It was weird to see them together, but they just seemed so natural like that. Nudge leaned toward Iggy slightly, content to just sit there next to him. Max trusted Iggy's assurance that nothing was going on past this, and it was not because Angel had told her as well.

Iggy, Nudge, and Fang listened as Max talked about the past weeks, and Max listened as they told of everything that had happened.

At the end of that night, far into the next morning, into the next year, she did not go home with the Flock. Angel and Gazzy gave her sleepy hugs and Max hugged Fang, Nudge, and Iggy again. "I don't regret telling you to go," Iggy said quietly. "You look-sound, much better than you were before. Much better." Nudge wrapped herself around his arm, smiling. "Yes, you do, Max. If he hadn't told you go, none of us would. I'm embarrassed to say that none of us mentioned it. We saw it, yes, but we didn't think it could be changed. It took a blind guy to say it," she said. After her initial excitement, she had mellowed out. Max was proud of her, she would have also been proud to say Nudge had grown up to fit the situation, become the new mom figure along with Fang, maybe only because the father position had already been filled and Iggy was kind of, you know, blind.

Nudge picked Angel up, wrapping her around her hip so she could carry her more easily. Iggy did the same with Gazzy, and as they strode away, out of the circle of the lamplight and into the dark, their free hands linked together. Max found herself smiling.

Fang stood next to Max in the dark, silent. Max didn't feel the urge to say anything as she watched the drunks stumble down the road and cars spray the now-slushy snow into the air, spattering the edge of the sidewalk.

He was the first to break the silence. "I try and I try, but I still can't understand," he murmured. Max turned sharply to look at him. "Understand what?" she asked, her voice just as quiet. He looked up from the ground to meet her eyes with his. "Why you picked him." Max's heart froze for a second, as if she were in pain she felt a sharp pang. He saw the look in her eyes and shook his head. "No, he's not... he's not a bad man and all. Job, motorcycle, money, all you could ever want in a guy," he said shrugging. Max turned to face him.

"I don't mean you picked him over me because he's better. I mean, I don't know what I mean," he said, his breath huffing out. He ran a tense hand through his hair, ruffling it. Max raised her hand, then let it fall. She sucked in a quiet breath.

"I don't understand either," she said. Fang looked at her. "Why I felt I had to leave. Why I'm still not ready to go back. Why I've been leaning on-him-for support." She didn't say Adam's name, but they both thought it. "I don't know why I feel like this, and I don't know why even now, after this time and seeing you guys, I still feel..." Max couldn't find a word for it. Fang filled in for her, the way he had been feeling since she left but he was not going to tell her. He felt as if he'd caused her enough pain already, but there was nothing he could do about it but prevent himself from hurting her again. "Empty."

If that meant he had to stay away from Max, he might be able to deal with that. He wasn't sure, but he could try. Max nodded, her fingers fidgeting with each other. Fang recognized the movement and he wrapped her in a hug.

"Don't worry Max," he said. "This time, what you have now, is for you to figure all that out, why you had to leave. And the Flock will always have your back." Max nodded, her face buried in his chest. For a moment Fang feared she wouldn't hug him back, but then her arms flew up to clutch at him.

"I'm sorry," she said, and though her voice was muffled he could tell she was crying.

"I am too," he replied, his voice tense again. He'd been tense for a while now, and he knew why, now. He held Max close, knowing this could be the last time he saw her in a while. He certainly hadn't expected her to run off like she did. When he spoke again, his voice was husky, with the urge to cry. "I just miss you so damned much," he said. Max looked up. "Too damned much. I... I was scared when you weren't there, and I'm still scared every time I wake up in the morning, looking for you and you aren't there. I still look over my shoulder for you, even though you aren't there and I know that. I reach for your hand and I look for your eyes, your face, anything." Fang sniffed. "And you're not there. You never are. It's torture," he told her.

Max sobbed into his shirt. She got her breath back and turned her face to the side so she could talk clearly.

"I look for you too," she said. "All of you. And... it might sound corny, but it hurts my heart when I realize that you're not there, that the Flock isn't so close." It was as far as she could get before another sob.

"Yeah," Fang said, laughing. He rubbed Max's back soothingly until she wasn't crying as hard. "That did sound pretty corny and absurd." Max laughed, barely. She leaned away from him, peering up with watery eyes. She blinked hard a few times, then pulled herself away from him. She held out her hand, which quivered.

"Pen," she ordered. Fang dug in his pockets until he pulled out a small black pen. Max wrote a number on his hand, then her name underneath. "I... I know you guys have cell phones by now, or at least Gazzy and Nudge do." She rolled her eyes, remembering the two of them practically shoving them in her face. "And I've got me one now, so you guys should call me, or text me every once in a while, okay?" Fang nodded. Max bit her lip and let it go, hugging Fang one last time. "Tell the Flock I love them alright?"

Fang could barely manage to say "I will, Max," before he choked up again. Once he let go of Max he walked away, leaving her in the cold, in a circle of faded yellow light from a light pole, snow glistening in her hair, all around her. He couldn't bare looking back and so he left, returning to the Flock's adopted warehouse silently, walking quietly to his room where a nightmare-riddled Angel lay in his bed, half-asleep.

"Fang?" she asked sleepily. He pulled the covers out from under her, and settled next to her in his clothes. "Yeah, Angel," he said roughly. "Don't worry, we'll see her soon," she told him. Fang looked at her in the dark. Her eyes were open, looking up at him. She put her hands under her cheek and went back to sleep, peaceful. Fang lay on his back until the sun rose, staring at the roof as he'd done, since the night Max left.

"I know," he said to the silence. He nodded to himself. "I know."

Max stumbled to the cafe, freezing cold, an hour later. The sun was close to rising, the sky already a dark gray. She unlocked the door and opened it quietly, silencing the bell over the door as she's learned from Amanda. Amanda herself rose from a nearby table and gestured to a couch before hugging Max.

"He waited for you," she said. The words weren't mean, just informing. "I'm glad you came back." Max nodded as Amanda left the room and looked at the couch for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the firelight.

Max assumed Adam had turned the couch in such a way that if he lied on it, the fire would be to his left and he could see the doorway. She walked forward until she could touch his shoes if she wanted to, and took off her sweatshirt, putting it on another chair. "Adam," she murmured. He didn't move. He was asleep. She walked around the couch and let her hand fall to run through his hair. His hand moved under the blankets he was covered with. Max kicked her shoes off and lifted the edge of the blankets. Adam automatically moved to give her more room and she lay down on it, facing him. His arm fell around her and he started to wake up.

"Shh, go back to sleep," she said. Adam shook his head.

"No. You're cold." Max smiled as he started to rub her back, getting her warmer. She snuggled closer to him, snaking her arms around him. He surprised her by leaning his head down to press a soft kiss to her lips. He was smiling. "First kiss of the new year," he explained. Max smiled, and only kissed him once again. Adam shifted next to her, and Max brought one of her arms up to cushion her head, the other coming up to press against his chest.

"Adam?" she asked. He made a quiet noise, nearing sleep. "I love you." He opened one eye, peering at her with sleepy green eyes.

"I love you, too, Max," he murmured, leaning again to kiss her, more thoroughly this time. Satisfied, he settled again, his breath slowing. Max watched him sleep for a few minutes before closing her own eyes.


	9. A Plan

Chapter Nine, not the best. So sue me, but review first.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, which is sad.

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When Adam awoke, he and Max had somehow rolled until he was lying on his back and she sprawled over him, their legs tangled together. Max slept peacefully, both her hands on his chest while his hands were around her small waist.

He sucked in a deep breath and it flew out with a whoosh. He rubbed Max's back gently but she didn't move. She was dead to the world.

"Good to see you're awake," he heard Amanda say. Her face appeared above him, smiling. "But Max was out so late she'll be sleeping till dinnertime."

Adam rubbed a hand over his face. "What time is it now?" His hand returned to Max's back. "Just before noon," Amanda said. "She got in just before sunrise." Amanda walked off to do something. When she returned, she informed him, "We're not even going to open today, probably for another week or so. I'm taking a bit of a vacation. Tell you later, I think we're all pretty exhausted." And she left, her feet soft on the stairs. What she meant by 'we' was her, Robert, and Sam. Robert and Sam were sharing one of the den rooms, alternating sleeping on the floor and couch, but Robert was spending much of his time with Amanda.

Adam sighed, shifting his position. Max muttered something, her arms stretching up to touch his neck and the sides of his face. They continued up to the top of his head and just laid there. "What?" Adam asked Max softly. She muttered again, "Don't move, this is comfortable. Lying like this." She idly traced his ears, tugging on them and kind-of, almost, petting them.

"Max," Adam said, keeping his voice stern. "Sorry," she murmured, letting her hands fall. As she brought them back down he caught one, pressing a kiss to her palm. "I was worried," he told her. In the silence of the room, it was easy to admit these things.

"You shouldn't have been," she said quietly, her eyes cracking open. She looked up at him. The look in her eyes... Adam felt a pang of guilt.

"Max, I lied to you earlier, when I told you how old I was. I said seventeen, and when you asked 'next birthday' I didn't say anything." Max made a murmur. Adam took this as a signal to continue. "Max, I... I just want you to know, I'm, you know, eighteen. If that bothers you..." He let the sentence hang. Max startled him by laughing. She turned on her back to stretch, then, on her side, inched up so she was looking in his eyes. He turned his head so their noses were barely separated. Her brown eyes danced.

"You think I don't know that?" Max asked. He just looked at her. She squeezed her hand around his. "I don't care. I really don't give a damn. It's still the same you, right?" Adam nodded. "And I love you," she said. She didn't have far to go to kiss him and she did, and the kiss turned from sweet and tender to rough, passionate.

Before either of them knew it, Max was lying under Adam, their lips locked together. His fingers were under her shirt, only lying on the warm skin of her sides and stomach, knowing she would probably hit him if he tried anything. One of Max's hands had taken to massaging his ears, the other on the hard muscles on his stomach.

A pair of feet skidded to a stop and they heard somebody's laugh. Sam was identified as he said, "Oh Jesus, get a room you two." Adam's lips separated from Max's and he rolled his eyes, shifting. They moved again so Adam was lying the way he'd been sleeping early that morning, and Max's back was pressed to his chest. Sam sat down in one of the cushioned loveseats, holding three cups of coffee. He passed two to Max and Adam, who set theirs carefully on the floor after drinking some.

"Jesus Christ you look tired," Sam informed Max. She nodded, rubbing an eye.

"I feel like it," she said. Sam looked at them, then laughed again, shaking his head slightly.

"I thought maybe I should tell you," he said. "Amanda and Robert plan on going on a kind of vacation thing with Alex. She wasn't sure if you guys or me wanted to go, and she wanted me to ask you."

"What do we get to do if we don't go?" Adam asked. Sam shrugged. "Anything the hell we want," he told him. Max scowled.

"Watch that mouth of yours," she said. Adam laughed, whispering in her ear. "You have no room to criticize, Max." Sam laughed as well. His face soon turned to confusion as he reached down to pick something up off the ground. It glinted in the light, silver.

"What is this?" he asked, peering at it. Max recognized the charm dangling from it. She reached over, taking it from him gently, watching the light glint off it's silver surface. Her breath snagged in her throat as she realized it was _her_ necklace. The one Fang had given her. He must have stuck it in her pocket without her realizing it. Which would have been easy enough to do, considering her distressed state.

She caught Adam's confused gaze and looked away guiltily, shoving her hand deep in her pocket, hiding the necklace from view, mainly hers. The last night came to the front of her mind and she shivered, refusing to let herself look at Adam. She felt a wave of guilt and closed her eyes, squeezing them tight, as if she was in pain. She was, just not physically. Adam must have noticed, because he squeezed her closer and nuzzled her neck.

Max found she did not hear anything else Adam and Sam said, their laughs didn't reach her ears, and it was only when they had left that she found her voice once more.

"Fang?" she said, her voice faint.

She would wait, she decided. She would wait until Amanda and Robert were gone and then she would disappear in the middle of the night. No note, no warning. It was the only way to do it. Otherwise, Adam would follow her. And she couldn't let that happen, could she?

The next day, Robert, Amanda, and Alex left to go somewhere sunny, leaving Max, Adam, and Sam in the still-melting city. They roamed around, doing nothing, while Max planned.

Adam brushed the hair away from Max's face, looking at her concernedly. "What is it, Max?"

Max glanced up, biting her lip. "Huh?"

Adam sighed, and tugged her lip out from under her teeth and pushed her forehead gently. "I'm not blind. You're… off, lately. What's up?"

Max leaned her head against him. "Nothing, Adam…" In the dark café it was easy to lie. Too bad when it came to Adam she was a crappy liar. She didn't want to hurt him, she didn't want to lie. But if she had to, she would.

Adam straightened up, pushing Max away from him til she was sitting up as well. "Don't bullshit me," he warned.

"I…" Max let the sentence trailed off as Adam gave her a stern gaze. She turned away from him to stare at the dead fire for a second, and when she turned back she realized she was crying. With her vision she could see Adam's face clearly, the worried eyes, the slight frown. The thought occurred to her that she was glad he couldn't see her.

"I need to go," she said. Adam's head tilted slightly, his ears tweaking. Before those words both had been pointed receptively toward her, now one was leaning back slightly. "To see the Flock," she said, answering the question he wanted to ask. He opened his mouth, then closed it, and his pupils narrowed as his ears both flipped decidedly back. Defensive.

"Max," he said, his voice still soft.

"Adam, I have to. Do you trust me?" She asked, sitting closer. His hand came up and after a moment found her cheek. His thumb rasped against her cheek, stopping when it found the tears. Adam's eyes turned sad and he wiped them away carefully.

Finally, after long minutes of intense staring, he nodded.

"I trust you."


	10. Somebody Gets Stalked?

Max stood at the bus shelter, just underneath the overhang, with rain pouring down so close to her that her bangs were getting wet. She'd cut her hair herself just after she left, in the bathroom of a McDonald's, using a magazine picture as a guide. Now her hair was, she had to admit, quite stylishly uneven. The longest it got though was just below her shoulders. The bangs were shortest, framing her face. She'd dyed her hair black, and on a fling had put streaks on every few bits of layers, with dark red and blue and purple.

With her skateboard next to her, the tail end on the pavement and the nose in her hand, those almost-skinny jeans and the tight band tee on, Fang had to admit she looked pretty punk.

He had tailed her, after she left the warehouse. She said goodbye to Angel and everyone else, and had almost let herself hug him before she pressed the necklace into his hand. Of course, once she left he had left as well, following her. For a few moments he hadn't realized it was Max walking out of the fast food restaurant, but the way she walked-scuffing her heels every few steps- was patent-Max.

Being away, it had changed her. She had on a bright pink eyeshadow-completely unnecessary- and DC shoes. There was a bright silver chain around her neck with little charms dangling off every few links, and a watch that had Mickey Mouse on it was on her wrist. A chunky belt, small studs in her ears, and all she was missing was a facial piercing.

Fang could tell she was changing herself-protecting herself-but still, it made him cringe when he saw her. He missed her, whether it was the old Max or this new image. He still wanted to wrap his arms around her and breathe the scent of her shampoo. Thank God she was still Max. The band tee she had on had a pair of wings printed on the back.

He followed her silently, predicting her every move, and losing her every once in a while. He always found her again.

Often he thought she must not have been flying for a while. If she had, he never saw her because with that backpack of hers and that skateboard, he didn't think she would have been able to take to the sky as easily.

So Fang followed her on foot, in the sky, silently every step of the way. He sat in the dark of the bus shelter and watched her watch the cars drive by.

Adam walked into the café, already knowing what had happened but not ready to accept it. Max had gone, taking most of her stuff with her, including the bracelet he had given her. He could still smell her in the blankets, he could still see the ghost of her walking in the rooms. He could still hear her say his name, hear her voice, feel the brush of her wings just before she took flight.

And then, he felt indescribably certain that she would be back.

Max sat in the motel room going through the contents of her bag. She had a set of extra wheels for her board hidden in the bottom. Four pairs of pants, six shirts, two tank tops, a pair of denim short shorts, and underthings. A macbook Air was nestled in the back, along with her cell phone and a wad of money. She had a comb and a few hairpins, a tube of lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, and a few shades of eyeshadow, but that was pretty much it.

Her image would be perfectly fine for the next few weeks, at least.

Max sucked her breath in and heaved a sigh, then turned on the tv. After flicking through the channels she flicked it back off and pulled out a huge roadmap of the United States.

She was in the most northern corner of Maine now, and hoping to cross the border into Canada. A little action would have to be taken to avoid the legal procedures, but she was confident she could do it.

She pulled out her phone to check for any new texts. There was only one, the one Angel kept sending every day, even though she never got an answer.

WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK, MAX?

She shut the phone and put it away, falling back on the bed with her arm over her eyes, falling asleep with her clothes on.

Fang was quiet on the rooftop opposite the motel. The light was still on in Max's room, but he could sense no movement. In the few weeks that had passed since she left New York City, she hadn't gone much of anywhere. She stayed in one place for days and days at a time. The old Max would have gotten antsy and moved around constantly.

Without thinking even once about it, he jumped down from the building and crossed the quiet street. He slipped in Max's unlocked room, thinking that the old Max would never have let that happen.

She lay on the bed, curled up, her shorter hair hiding her face. All thought ceased and Fang brushed her hair back. She didn't even have to open her eyes. "Fang..." she murmured, and sank deeper into sleep again. Fang turned off all the lights and made sure everything was shut off, and he was about to make his way for the door when Max turned over.

"Don't... don't leave, Fang," she murmured, still half-asleep. "Stay with me." He hesitated, and almost left, but the sight of her, lying prone and vulnerable on the motel bed, struck him deep in the heart.

When Max heard Fang climbing on the bed, She rolled back over onto her side, curling up again. Fang fit his form around her, holding her tight with one arm and burying his nose in her neck. He stayed awake for some time while she fell asleep easily.

He thought about how far she'd come, and what the consequences of him showing up like this, would be. He also wondered if he didn't entirely hate this new Max, who still smelled like strawberry shampoo and still depended on him in some way. The new Max, who must still have all that bravery, courage, and strength hidden deep down, hiding from sight.


	11. Figuring It Out

Sooo.... eleventh chapter, right? let's get to it. Right after these words:

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or anything associated with Maximum Ride. P.S. James Patterson is my idol :D Gotta give him props for the characters and letting me borrow them :)

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Max awoke slowly in the morning, to strong arms around her. They felt so familiar to her, and she twisted around to see Fang, deep in sleep. His eyes closed, the long eyelashes fanning outwards. His lips, pulled up in the slightest of smiles. She found her thumb just barely touching the edge of his mouth, and her face leaning closer to his, before she knew what she was doing.

She stopped herself, and made herself comfortable in his arms after glancing out the window to find that it was just barely dawn. He smelled like Fang, and it reminded her of not too long ago, barely three months now, that he had held her tenderly and she had said goodbye. Seemed it wasn't working out too well. His chest rose and fell, and she pressed her ear to it, listening to the breath moving in and out and the strong, steady heartbeat. In just three months, he had already grown. Not enough to be noticed, just enough that if you hadn't seen him for a very, very long time, you would notice.

One of his hands rested at the bottom of the back of her head, lightly tangled in her hair. The other was around her, holding her close. Max breathed in and let out a deep sigh, watching as it made the hair on his head ruffle in the slightest way.

She missed him.

Max let her arms wrap around him, tenderly. Fang sucked in a deep breath and he shifted, and for a second Max thought he was waking up. But he simply adjusted his hold on her, pulling her closer and tangling his hand in her hair further.

She breathed easy, relaxing in his arms.

Soon she fell right back into sleep, knowing she was safer than she'd been for a long time.

:::

Soft, warm breaths fluttered along his chin, rhythmic. His arms were warm around Max and hers were warm against him. It felt like old times, but Fang didn't have to open his eyes to know so many things had changed, even though they weren't far from home and only a few months had passed. Still, the world felt right when she was in his arms.

Fang breathed deeply, leaning to rub his cheek against her head. Her hair still smelled like strawberries, though she had chopped at it and dyed it crazily. She was warm under his arms, and the exact same shape she had always been. He wished, for a moment, that they could stay like this for hours. But then he remembered, they both needed this. Especially Max. She needed time, and she needed space, but Fang wasn't too sure he could give her either of those.

"Max," he breathed out, unconscious of it. She stirred in his arms and he realized that right now, he had about five minutes to get the hell out of Dallas before everything they had just gone through was ripped to shreds. And yet, he didn't want to let go of her.

Three months had passed since he had last held her like this. Fang decided to let things be and he stayed, arms around her until finally, after sleeping peacefully for hours, Max opened her eyes.

His name came from her on a sigh, and he had to resist the urge to kiss her. Max blinked sleepily several times before her chocolate eyes were clear, and then her hands rose to push against his chest. Fang released her, biting back some deep pain in him. "What is it Max?" he asked. _And why didn't she want to be in his arms_ he added in his mind.

"Why didn't you... why... you just let me walk away!" Max exploded after several false starts. Fang's brows furrowed in confusion and Max's eyes went soft, reaching for him, before she forced herself to turn away, not to look at him.

"What do you even mean, Max?" Fang asked. "I had no choice, you went off when I wasn't even there! Iggy told me all about it, about you being all depressed and shit! You're mad at me for letting you go? I should be the one mad at you for leaving in the first place!" Something, that deep pain in him, had sealed itself off, and Fang found it too easy to yell at her. He knew he loved her, but...

"I was there the whole time, Max. You could have talked to me about things," Fang stated, voice tight, throat constricting. He wished time could reverse and they could just be lying on the bed again. Happy. Content. Peaceful.

Max made a move to get off the bed but Fang beat her to it, leaping off and yanking the door open so hard the lock broke. It slammed behind him, but he barely heard it, already taking flight. The wind blew into his stinging eye, taking away any tears he might have. He didn't go far.

:::

Max didn't think twice about it. She didn't have to. She already had her wings spread by her first step out the door and after the bare minimum of running steps she found herself in the air, lifted. She closed her eyes, letting herself revel in the moment, taking flight after all this time. The wind streaming through her hair, beating at her face.

And then she remembered why she was in the air in the first place.

Max snapped her eyes open and spiraled higher, her sharp eyes seeing everything far below her. Including the bright flash of light reflecting off the water tower by the lake on the East side of town and the tall, dark-haired boy pacing on top of it.

Fang looked around, saw her, and made a move to fly off again. She dive-bombed him.

Max barreled into Fang, flinging them both off the water tower and into the forest below. By some wild stroke of luck, neither of them hit any of them and they landed on four inches of soft, green grass. Max buried her head into Fang's back and spoke, her voice muffled.

"Don't leave. I'm sorry. I lost it. When we took Itex down, you'd think I would have felt good, happy. But no, I felt so much more than that, and so much worse. Once we were free of them, I... I felt lost. I still do. Like there's something I should be doing that I don't know about yet, like I have no purpose." The words flowed out of her unbidden, a long rant.

"Fang, I... I love you. I always have. And I didn't mean not to tell you, I didn't mean to run off like that. I wanted to, I swear to you, with everything I've got, I wanted to tell you so bad but I didn't know how, I didn't know how to put it in words, I didn't know how to make you understand." Her voice trailed off and she wrapped her arms around his middle, holding him tight. "It wasn't your fault. And I thought if I didn't tell you everything, every bit of this emotion, that you would think that this wasn't enough for a purpose. You and me."

Max took a few deep breaths, realizing that she was crying. "I... I love you Fang, and I don't know what to do about it. I'm scared, and I'm tired of this running in circles, and whenever I'm not next to you I feel so lonely, and it feels like there's a pit inside me, deep and black and huge, waiting to swallow me up. I love you, but I don't know how to make you understand that either."

Max froze, her breath, her heartbeat, all movements. For a few stomach-sickening minutes, she thought Fang wouldn't forgive her, or had been ignoring her. For those minutes, her heart plummeted even farther down than it already was and her head whirled and she felt weak from something like fear.

She slid off of Fang, tears sliding down her face, to lie on her back in the grass. Fang turned to face her, staring at her intently. Max broke the gaze, pained, to look straight up, past the trees to the clear blue sky above. Then, out of the corner of her eye, he reached up one hand to hold hers, and when he spoke his voice was soft. Loving?

"Max, I already understood. I knew you loved me," he said. Max turned to look at him, her eyebrows scrunched together. One side of Fang's mouth drew up in a smile. "I have always listened to your words, and I have always known what you meant. All you needed to do was tell me, talk to me, and I would never have thought this wasn't enough." The other side of his mouth tugged up until he was smiling, and Max's heart beat furiously. "You and me._ Us_."

Max turned until she was on her side and for a moment, all she saw were his eyes. And then, suddenly, she leaned forward, her lips crashing into his in a kiss they had both waited too long for. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he rolled over onto his back and tangled her hands in his hair, smiling when she thought that she had been stupid to put this off for so long, and at the stray thought that she hadn't felt his hair in her fingers in such a long time.

"I love you, Maximum Ride," Fang whispered.

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Ga-arh! What happens next I can't figure out!? Press the button below *Genie-Ninja Skills, Activate!* It says 'Review' and will give you a cheesecake :D


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